*  I 


v>--    *     -, 
V 


/ 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA. 


By  the  same  Authors 

r 

My  Friend  the  Chavffeur 

Lady  Betty  Across  the  Water 

Rosemary  in  Search  of  a  Father 


Who  is  that  girl?  "  asked  Count  von  Breit stein 


THE 
PRINCESS   VIRGINIA 


BY 


G.  N.  &  A.  M.  WILLIAMSON 


BJustratiops  ^>y  J^epn  Guipon 


NEW  YORK 

McCLURE,  PHILLIPS  &  CO. 
MCMVII 


Copyright,  1907,  by  McClure,  Phillips  &  Co. 
Publistied  April,  1907 


Copyright,  1906,  1907,  by  The  Curtis  Publishing  Company 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I  WHEN  THE  NEWS  CAME  ...        3 

II  FOUR  GENTLEMEN  OF  IMPORTANCE   .       £8 

III  A  CHAMOIS  HUNTER        ...       42 

IV  THE  EAGLE'S  EYRIE        ...       52 
V  LEO  VERSUS  LEOPOLD     .         .         .       82 

VI  Nor  IN  THE  PROGRAM     ...       98 

VII  THE  HONORS  OF  THE  DAY       .         .117 

VIII  THE  EMPEROR'S  BALL     .          .          .126 

IX  IRON  HEART  AT  HOME     .         .         .     152 

X  VIRGINIA'S  GREAT  MOMENT     .         .     174 

XI  THE  MAN  WHO  WAITED          .         .     197 

XII  "THE  EMPEROR  WILL  UNDERSTAND"      206 

XIII  THE  MAGIC  CITRON         .         .         .214 

XIV  THE  EMPEROR  AT  BAY    .         .         v    227 
XV  THROUGH  THE  TELEPHONE      .         .     246 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XVI     TRUTH  ACCORDING    TO    THE    CHAN 
CELLOR        .  .          .          .     254 

XVII  THE  OLDNESS  OF  THE  CHANCELLOR.     279 

XVIII  Nor  AT  HOME         .  .         .291 

XIX  THE  THIRD  COURSE        .         .         .295 

XX  AFTER  THE  CURTAIN  WENT  DOWN        298 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

"WHO     IS    THAT     GIRL  ? "    ASKED    COUNT    VON 

BREITSTEIN Frontispiece 

FACING 
PAGE 

SHE  LOST  HER  SCANT  FOOTHOLD,  SLIPPED, 
TRIED  TO  HOLD  ON,  FAILED,  AND  SLID 
DOWN  THE  ROCK  50 

"LET   THE  LAW    DEAL    WITH    THE  MADMAN;  IT 

is  MY  WILL" 114 

"NEVER!"  SHE  EXCLAIMED.    " IT'S  AN  INSULT"     194 
AT  SIGHT  OF  HER  THE  EMPEROR  STOPPED  ON 

THE  THRESHOLD 292 

'*WE     SHALL    NEVER     BE     OLD,    FOR    WE    LOVE 

EACH    OTHER,"    SAID   THE    EMPEROR  300 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 


CHAPTER  I 
WHEN    THE    NEWS    CAME 

O,"  said  the  Princess.  "  No.  I'm  —  dashed 
if  I  do." 

"My  darling  child!"  exclaimed  the 
Grand  Duchess.  "You're  impossible.  If  any  one 
should  hear  you!" 

"  It's  he  who's  impossible,"  the  Princess  amended. 
"  I'm  just  trying  to  show  you  - 

"Or  to  shock  me.   You  are  so  like  your  grand 
mother." 

"  That's  the  best  compliment  any  one  can  give  me, 
which  is  lucky,  as  it's  given  so  often,"  laughed  the 
Princess.  "Dear,  adorable  Virginia!"  She  cuddled 
into  the  pink  hollow  of  her  hand  the  pearl-framed 
ivory  miniature  of  a  beautiful,  smiling  girl,  which 
always  hung  from  a  thin  gold  chain  around  her  neck. 
"They  shouldn't  have  named  me  after  you,  should 
they,  if  they  hadn't  wanted  me  to  be  like  you  ?  " 
[3] 


THE   PRINCESS   VIRGINIA 

"  It  was  partly  a  question  of  money,  dear,"  sighed 
the  Graijd  fruchesfe.^lf  :my  mother  hadn't  left  a 
legacy  to  my  first  daughter  only  on  consideration  that 
her  own  extremely  American  name  of  Virginia  should 
be  perpetuated  — 

"It  was  a  delicious  way  of  being  patriotic.  I'm  glad 
she  did  it.  I  love  being  the  only  Royal  Princess  with 
American  blood  in  my  veins  and  an  American  name 
on  my  handkerchiefs.  Do  you  believe  for  an  instant 
that  if  Grandmother  Virginia  were  alive,  she  would 
let  Granddaughter  Virginia  marry  Prince  Henri 
deTouraine?" 

"I  don't  see  why  not,"  said  the  Grand  Duchess. 
"  She  wasn't  too  patriotic  to  marry  an  English  Duke, 
and  startle  London  as  the  first  American  Duchess. 
Heavens,  the  things  she  used  to  do,  if  one  could  be 
lieve  half  the  wild  stories  my  father's  sister  told  me  in 
warning !  And  as  for  my  father,  though  a  most  charm 
ing  man,  of  course,  he  could  not  —  er  — have  been 
called  precisely  estimable,  while  Prince  Henri  cer 
tainly  is,  and  an  exceedingly  good  match  even  for  you 
—  in  present  circumstances." 

"  Call  him  a  match,  if  you  like,  Mother.  He's  un 
doubtedly  a  stick.  But  no,  he's  not  a  match  for  me. 
[4] 


WHEN    THE    NEWS    CAME 
There's  only  one  on  earth."  And  Virginia's  eyes  were 
lifted  to  the  sky  as  if,  instead  of  existing  on  earth,  the 
person  in  her  thoughts  were  placed  as  high  as  the  sun 
that  shone  above  her. 

"  I  should  have  preferred  an  Englishman  —  for 
you,"  said  the  Grand  Duchess,  "  if  only  there  were 
one  of  suitable  rank,  free  to  —  " 

"  I'm  not  thinking  of  an  Englishman,"  murmured 
her  daughter. 

"  If  only  you  would  think  of  poor  Henri ! " 

"Never  of   him.  You   know   I  said   I   would   be 

cj_» 

"Don't  repeat  it !  Oh,  when  you  look  at  me  in  that 
way,  how  like  you  are  to  your  grandmother's  portrait 
at  home  —  the  one  in  white,  painted  just  before  her 
marriage.  One  might  have  known  you  would  be  ex 
traordinary.  That  sort  of  thing  invariably  skips  over 
a  generation." 

The  Grand  Duchess  laid  down  the  theory  as  a  law; 
and  whether  or  no  she  were  right,  it  was  at  least 
sure  that  she  had  inherited  nothing  of  the  first 
Virginia's  daring  originality.  Some  of  her  radi 
ant  mother's  beauty,  perhaps,  watered  down  to 
gentle  prettiness,  for  the  Hereditary  Grand  Duchess 
[5] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
of  Baumenburg-Drippe  at  fifty-one  was  still  a  daintily- 
attractive  woman,  a  middle-aged  Dresden  china 
lady,  with  a  perfect  complexion,  preserved  by  an  al 
most  perfect  temper;  surprised  eyebrows,  kindly 
dimples,  and  a  conventional  upper  lip. 

She  was  not  by  birth  "Hereditary."  Her  lord  and 
(very  much)  her  master  had  been  that,  and  had  se 
lected  her  to  help  him  reign  over  the  Hereditary 
Grand  Duchy  of  Baumenburg-Drippe,  not  only 
because  her  father  was  an  English  Duke  with  Royal 
Stuart  blood  in  his  veins,  but  because  her  Virginian 
mother  had  brought  much  gold  to  the  Northmore- 
land  exchequer.  Afterwards,  he  had  freely  spent  such 
portion  of  that  gold  as  had  come  to  his  coffers,  in 
trying  to  keep  his  little  estates  intact;  but  now  it  was 
all  gone,  and  long  ago  he  had  died  of  grief  and  bitter 
disappointment;  the  Hereditary  Grand  Duchy  of 
Baumenburg-Drippe  was  ruled  by  a  cousinly  under 
study  of  the  German  Emperor  William  the  Second; 
the  one  son  of  the  marriage  had  been  adopted,  as  heir 
to  his  crown,  by  the  childless  King  of  Hungaria;  the 
handsome  and  lamentably  extravagant  old  Duke  of 
Northmoreland  was  dead;  his  title  and  vast  estates 
had  passed  to  a  distant  and  disagreeable  relative; 
[6] 


WHEN  THE  NEWS  CAME 
and  the  widowed  Grand  Duchess,  with  her  one  fair 
daughter,  had  lived  for  years  in  a  pretty  old  house 
with  a  high-walled  garden,  at  Hampton  Court,  lent 
by  the  generosity  of  the  King  and  Queen  of  Eng 
land. 

For  a  long  moment  the  Dresden  china  lady  thought 
in  silence  and  something  of  sadness.  Then  she  roused 
herself  again  and  asked  the  one  and  only  Royal  Prin 
cess  with  an  American  name  what,  in  the  way  of  a 
match,  she  really  expected. 

"What  do  I  expect?"  echoed  Virginia.  "Why,  I 
wish  for  the  Moon  —  no,  I  mean  the  Sun.  But  I 
don't  expect  to  get  it." 

"Is  that  a  way  of  saying  you  never  intend  to 
marry  ?  " 

"  I'm  afraid  it  amounts  to  that,"  admitted  Virginia, 
"  since  there  is  only  one  man  in  the  world  I  would  have 
for  my  husband." 

"My  dearest!  A  man  you  have  let  yourself  learn 
to  care  for  ?  A  man  beneath  you  ?  How  terrible !  But 
you  see  no  one.  I  —  " 

"  I've  never  seen  this  man.  And  —  I'm  not  'in  love' 
with  him ;  that  would  be  too  foolish.  Because,  instead 
of  being  beneath,  he's  far,  far  above  me/' 
[7] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

"  Virginia !  Of  whom  can  you  be  talking  ?  Or  is 
this  another  joke  ?  " 

Virginia  blushed  a  little,  and  instead  of  answering 
her  mother's  look  of  helpless  appeal,  stared  at  the 
row  of  tall  hollyhocks  that  blazed  along  the  ivy- 
hidden  garden  wall.  She  did  not  speak  for  an  instant, 
and  then  she  said  with  the  dainty  shyness  of  a  child 
pinned  to  a  statement  by  uncomprehending  elders. 
"  It  isn't  a  joke.  Nonsense,  maybe  —  yet  not  a  joke. 
I've  always  thought  of  him  —  for  so  many  years  I've 
forgotten  when  it  first  began.  He's  so  great,  so  — 
everything  that  appeals  to  me;  how  could  I  help 
thinking  about  him,  and  putting  him  on  a  pedestal  ? 
I  —  there's  no  idea  of  marriage  in  my  mind,  of  course. 
Only  —  there's  no  other  man  possible,  after  all  the 
thoughts  I've  given  him.  No  other  man  in  the  world." 

"  My  dear,  you  must  tell  me  his  name." 

"  What,  when  I've  described  him  —  almost  —  do 
you  still  need  to  hear  his  name  ?  Well  then,  I  —  I'm 
not  ashamed  to  tell.  It's  *  Leopold.' " 

"Leopold!  You're  talking  of  the  Emperor  of 
Rhaetia." 

"As  if  it  could  have  been  any  one  else." 

"  And  you  have  thought  of  him  —  you've  cher- 
[8] 


WHEN    THE    NEWS    CAME 
ished   him  —  for   years  —  as   an   ideal !   Why,   you 
never  spoke  of  him  particularly  before." 

"  That's  because  you  never  seriously  wanted  me  to 
take  a  husband  until  this  prim,  dull  French  Henri 
proposed  himself.  My  thoughts  were  my  own.  I 
wouldn't  have  told,  only  —  you  see  why." 

"  Of  course.  My  precious  child,  how  extremely  in 
teresting,  and  —  and  romantic."  Again  the  Grand 
Duchess  lapsed  into  silence.  Yet  her  expression  did 
not  suggest  a  stricken  mind.  She  merely  appeared 
astonished,  with  an  astonishment  that  might  turn  into 
an  emotion  more  agreeable. 

Meanwhile  it  was  left  for  Virginia  to  look  vexed, 
vexed  with  herself.  She  wished  that  she  had  not  be 
trayed  her  poor  little  foolish  secret  —  so  shadowy  a 
secret  that  it  was  hardly  worthy  of  the  name.  Yet  it 
had  been  precious  —  precious  since  childhood,  pre 
cious  as  the  immediate  jewel  of  her  soul,  because  it 
had  been  the  jewel  of  her  soul,  and  no  one  else  had 
dreamed  of  its  existence.  Now  she  had  shown  it  to 
other  eyes  —  almost  flaunted  it.  Never  again  could  it 
be  a  joy  to  her. 

In  the  little  room,  half  study,  half  boudoir,  which 
was  her  own,  there  was  a  desk,  locked  in  her  absence, 

[9] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
where  souvenirs  of  the  young  Emperor  of  Rhaetia 
had  been  accumulating  for  years.  There  were  photo 
graphs  which  Virginia  had  contrived  to  buy  secretly; 
portraits  of  Leopold  from  an  early  age,  up  to  the  pres 
ent,  when  he  was  shown  as  a  tall,  dark,  cold-eyed, 
warm-lipped,  firm-chinned  young  man  of  thirty. 
There  were  paragraphs  cut  from  newspapers,  telling 
of  his  genius  as  a  soldier,  his  prowess  as  a  mountain 
eer  and  hunter  of  big  game,  with  dramatic  anec 
dotes  of  his  haughty  courage  in  time  of  danger,  his 
impulsive  charities,  his  well  thought  out  schemes  for 
the  welfare  of  his  subjects  in  every  walk  of  life. 

There  were  black  and  white  copies  of  bold,  clever 
pictures  he  had  painted;  there  was  martial  music 
composed  by  him,  and  plaintive  folk-songs  adapted  by 
him,  which  Virginia  had  tried  softly  to  herself  on  her 
little  piano,  when  nobody  was  near.  There  were  re 
ports  of  speeches  made  by  him  since  his  accession  to 
the  Throne;  accounts  of  improvements  in  guns,  and  an 
invention  of  a  new  explosive;  there  was  a  somewhat 
crude,  yet  witty  play  which  he  had  written ;  and  num 
erous  other  records  of  the  accomplishments  and 
achievements,  and  even  eccentricities  which  had 
built  up  the  Princess  Virginia's  ideal  of  this  cele- 
[10] 


,WHEN    THE    NEWS    CAME 
brated  young  man,  proclaimed  Emperor  after  the 
great  revolution  eight  years  ago. 

"You  are  worthy  to  be  an  Empress." 

Her  mother's  voice  broke  into  Virginia's  thoughts. 
She  started,  and  found  herself  under  inspection  by 
the  Grand  Duchess.  At  first  she  frowned,  then  she 
laughed,  springing  up  on  a  quick  impulse  to  turn 
earnest  into  jest,  and  so  perhaps  escape  further  cate 
chising. 

"  Yes,  would  I  not  make  an  Empress  ?  "  she  echoed, 
stepping  out  from  the  shadow  of  her  favorite  elm, 
into  the  noontide  radiance  of  summer. 

The  sun  poured  over  her  hair,  as  she  stood  with 
uplifted  head,  and  threaded  it  with  a  network  of  living 
gold,  gleaming  into  the  dark  gray  eyes  rimmed  with 
black  lashes  and  turning  them  to  jewels.  Her  fair 
skin  was  as  flawless  in  the  unsparing  light  as  the  petals 
of  lilies,  and  her  features,  though  a  repetition  of  those 
which  had  made  a  Virginia  girl  famous  long  ago,  were 
carved  with  Royal  perfection. 

"  There  is  no  real  reason  why  you  should  not  make 
an  Empress,  dearest,"  said  her  mother,  in  pride  of 
the  girl's  beauty,  and  desiring,  womanlike,  to  pro 
mote  her  child's  happiness.  "Stranger  things  have 
[11] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
happened.  Only  last  week,  at  Windsor,  the  dear 
Queen  was  saying  what  a  pity  poor  Henri  was  not 
more  —  but  no  matter,  he  is  well  enough.  However, 
if  —  And  when  one  comes  to  think  of  it,  it's  perhaps 
not  unnatural  that  Leopold  of  Rhaetia  has  never  been 
mentioned  for  you,  although  there  could  be  nothing 
against  the  marriage.  What  a  match  for  any  woman ! 
A  supreme  one.  Not  a  Royal  girl  but  would  go  on  her 
knees  to  him,  if  —  ' 

"I  wouldn't,"  said  Virginia.  "I  might  worship 
him,  yet  he  should  go  on  his  knees  to  me." 

"  I  doubt  if  those  proud  knees  of  his  will  ever  bend 
in  homage  to  man  or  woman,"  replied  the  Grand 
Duchess.  "But  that's  a  mere  fantasy.  I'm  serious 
now,  darling,  and  I  very  much  wish  you  would  be." 

"Please,  I'd  rather  not,"  smiled  Virginia,  uneasily. 
"  Let  us  not  talk  of  the  Emperor  any  more  —  and 
never  again  after  this,  Mother.  You  know  now. 
That's  all  that's  necessary,  and  —  ' 

"  But  it's  not  all  that's  necessary.  You  have  put  the 
idea  into  my  head,  and  it's  not  an  unpleasing  idea. 
Besides,  it  has  evidently  been  in  your  head  for  a  long 
time  —  and  —  I  should  like  to  see  you  happy  —  see 
you  in  a  position  such  as  you're  entitled  to  grace.  You 

[12] 


WHEN  THE  NEWS  CAME 
are  a  very  beautiful  girl  (there's  no  disguising  that 
from  you,  as  you  know  you  are  the  image  of  your 
grandmother,  who  was  a  celebrated  beauty)  and"  the 
best  blood  in  Europe  runs  in  your  veins.  You  are 
royal,  and  yet  —  and  yet  our  circumstances  are  such 
that  —  in  fact,  for  the  present,  we're  somewhat 
handicapped." 

"We're  beggars,"  said  Virginia,  laughing;  but  it 
was  not  a  happy  laugh. 

"Cophetua  married  the  beggar  maid,"  the  Grand 
Duchess  reminded  her,  with  elaborate  playfulness. 
"  And,  you  know,  all  sorts  of  things  have  happened  in 
history  —  much  stranger  than  any  one  would  dare 
put  in  fiction,  if  writing  of  Royalties.  My  dear  hus 
band  was  second  cousin  once  removed  to  the  Ger 
man  Emperor,  though  he  was  treated  —  but  we 
mustn't  speak  of  that.  The  subject  always  upsets  me. 
What  I  was  leading  up  to,  is  this;  though  there  may 
be  other  girls  who,  from  a  worldly  point  of  view,  are 
more  desirable;  still,  you're  strictly  within  the  pale 
from  which  Leopold  is  entitled  to  choose  his  wife, 
and  if—" 

"Dear  little  Mother,  there's  no  such  'if.'  And  as 
for  me,  7  wasn't  thinking  of  a  'worldly  point  of  view.' 
[13] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
The  Emperor  of  Rhaetia  barely  knows  that  I  exist. 
And  even  if  by  some  miracle  he  should  suddenly  dis 
cover  that  little  Princess  Virginia  Mary  Victoria 
Alexandra  Hildegarde  of  Baumenburg-Drippe  was 
the  one  suitable  wife  for  him  on  earth,  I  wouldn't 
have  him  want  me  because  I  was  'suitable/  but  —  be 
cause  I  was  irresistible.  I'd  want  his  love  —  all  his 
love  —  or  I  would  say  'no,  you  must  look  somewhere 
else  for  your  Empress. ' J 

"  But  that's  nonsense,  darling.  Royal  people  seldom 
or  never  have  the  chance  to  fall  in  love,"  said  the 
Grand  Duchess. 

"I'm  tired  of  being  Royal,"  snapped  the  Princess. 
"Being  Royal  does  nothing  but  spoil  all  one's  fun, 
and  oblige  one  to  do  stupid,  boring  things,  which  one 
hates." 

"  Nevertheless,  noblesse  does  oblige,"  went  on  the 
Dresden  china  prophetess  of  conventionality.  "  When 
alliances  are  arranged  for  women  of  our  position,  we 
must  content  ourselves  with  the  hope  that  love  may 
come  after  marriage.  Or  if  not,  we  must  go  on  doing 
our  duty  in  that  state  of  life  to  which  Heaven  has 
graciously  called  us." 

"  Bother  duty !"  broke  out  Virginia.  "  Thank  good- 
[14] 


WHEN  THE  NEWS  CAME 
ness,  in  these  days  not  all  the  king's  horses  and  all  the 
king's  men  can  make  even  a  Princess  marry  against 
her  will.  I  hate  that  everlasting  cant  about  'duty  in 
marriage.'  When  people  love  each  other,  they're 
kind  and  good,  and  sweet  and  true,  because  it's  a 
joy,  not  because  it's  a  duty.  And  that's  the  only  sort 
of  loyalty  worth  having  between  men  and  women,  ac 
cording  to  me.  I  wouldn't  accept  anything  else  from 
a  man ;  and  I  should  despise  him  if  he  were  less  —  or 
more  —  exacting." 

"  Virginia,  the  way  you  express  yourself  is  almost 
improper.  I'm  thankful  that  no  one  hears  you  except 
myself, "said  the  Grand  Duchess.  But  at  this  moment, 
when  clash  of  tongues  and  opinions  seemed  imminent, 
there  occurred  a  happy  diversion  in  the  arrival  of 
letters. 

Virginia,  who  was  a  neglectful  correspondent,  had 
nothing;  but  two  or  three  important  looking  envelopes 
claimed  attention  from  the  Grand  Duchess,  and  as 
soon  as  the  ladies  were  once  more  alone  together  in 
the  sweet-scented  garden,  she  broke  the  crown- 
stamped  seal  of  her  son  Adalbert,  now  by  adoption 
Crown  Prince  of  Hungaria. 

"Open  the  others  for  me,  dear,"  she  demanded, 
[15] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
excitedly,  "while  I  see  what  Dal  has  to  say."  And 
Virginia  leisurely  obeyed,  wondering  whether  Dai's 
news  would  by-and-by  be  passed  on  to  her.  It  was 
always  an  event  when  a  long  letter  came  from  him; 
and  the  Grand  Duchess  invariably  laughed  and  ex 
claimed,  and  sometimes  blushed  as  she  read;  but 
when  she  blushed,  the  letter  was  not  given  to  the 
Crown  Prince's  sister. 

There  was  a  note  to-day  from  an  old  friend  of 
her  mother's  of  whom  Virginia  was  fond,  and  she  had 
just  begun  to  be  interested  in  the  third  paragraph,  all 
about  an  adorable  Dandy  Dinmont  puppy,  when  an 
odd,  half-stifled  ejaculation  from  the  Grand  Duchess 
made  the  girl  lift  her  eyes. 

"  Has  Dal  been  having  something  beyond  the  com 
mon  in  the  way  of  adventures  ?  "  she  inquired  dryly. 

Her  mother  did  not  answer;  but  she  had  grown 
pink  and  then  pale. 

Virginia  began  to  be  uneasy.  "  What  is  the  matter  ? 
Is  anything  wrong  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  No  —  nothing  in  the  least  wrong.  Far  from  it, 
indeed.  But  —  oh,  my  child ! " 

"  Mother  dear,  what  is  it  ?  " 

"  Something  so  extraordinary  —  so  wonderful  — 
[16] 


WHEN    THE    NEWS    CAME 
I  mean,  as  a  coincidence  —  that  I  can  hardly  speak. 
I  suppose  I  can't  be  dreaming  ?  You  are  really  talking 
to  me  in  the  garden,  aren't  you  ?  " 

"I  am,  and  I  wish  you  were  telling  me  the 
mystery.  Do,  dear.  You  look  awake,  only  rather 
odd." 

"  It  would  be  strange  if  I  didn't  look  odd.  Dal  says 
—  Dal  says  — ' 

"  What  has  he  been  doing  ?  Getting  engaged  ?  " 

"  No.  It  is  —  your  Emperor,  not  Dal,  who  talks  of 
being  engaged." 

"  Oh,"  said  Virginia,  trying  not  to  speak  blankly, 
trying  not  to  flush,  trying  not  to  show  in  any  way  the 
sudden  sick  pain  in  her  heart. 

Of  course  she  was  not  in  love  with  him.  Of  course, 
though  she  had  been  childish  enough  long  ago  to 
make  him  her  ideal,  and  foolishly  faithful  enough  to 
keep  him  so,  she  had  always  known  that  he  would 
never  be  more  to  her  than  a  Shadow  Emperor.  Some 
day  he  would  marry  one  of  those  other  Royal  girls 
who  were  so  much  more  suitable  than  she ;  that  would 
be  natural  and  right,  as  she  had  more  than  once 
told  herself  with  no  conscious  pang.  But  now  that  the 
news  had  come  —  now  that  the  Royal  girl  was  actu- 
[17] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
ally  chosen,  and  she  must  hear  the  letter  and  read 
about  the  happy  event  in  the  newspapers,  it  was  diff 
erent.  She  felt  suddenly  cold  and  sick  under  the  blow ; 
hurt  and  defrauded,  and  even  jealous.  She  knew  that 
she  would  hate  the  girl  —  some  wretched,  common 
place  girl,  with  stick-out  teeth,  perhaps,  or  no  figure, 
and  no  idea  of  the  way  to  wear  her  clothes  or  do  her 
hair. 

But  she  swallowed  hard,  and  clenched  her  fingers 
under  the  voluminous  letter  about  Dandy  Dinmont. 
"  Oh,  so  our  friend  is  going  to  be  married  ?  "  she  re 
marked  lightly. 

"That  depends,"  replied  the  Grand  Duchess, 
laughing  mysteriously,  with  a  catch  in  her  voice,  as  if 
she  had  been  a  nervous  girl.  "That  depends.  You 
must  guess  —  but  no,  I  won't  tease  you.  My  dear, 
my  dear,  after  Dai's  letter,  coming  as  it  has  in  the 
midst  of  such  a  conversation,  I  shall  be  a  firm  believer 
in  telepathy.  This  letter,  on  its  way  to  us,  must  have 
put  the  thoughts  into  our  minds,  and  the  words  on 
our  tongues.  It  may  be  that  the  Emperor  of  Rhaetia 
will  marry;  it  may  not.  For,  my  sweet,  beautiful  girl, 
it  depends  upon  —  you." 

"  Me  ? "  The  voice  did  not  sound  to  Virginia  like 
[18] 


WHEN    THE    NEWS    CAME 
her  own.  Was  she  too,  dreaming  ?  Were  they  both  in 
a  dream  ? 

"  He  wishes  to  marry  you." 

All  the  letters  dropped  from  Virginia's  lap,  dropped, 
and  fluttered  to  the  grass  slowly,  like  falling  rose 
leaves.  Scarcely  knowing  what  she  did,  she  clasped 
her  hands  over  the  young  bosom  shaken  with  the 
sudden  throbbing  of  her  heart.  Perhaps  such  a 
betrayal  of  feeling  by  a  Royal  maiden  decorously 
sued  (by  proxy)  for  her  hand,  was  scarcely  correct; 
but  Virginia  had  no  thought  for  rules  of  conduct,  as 
laid  down  for  her  too  often  by  her  mother. 

"  He  wishes  to  marry  —  me  ?  "  she  echoed,  dazedly. 
"Why?" 

"Providence  must  have  drawn  your  inclination 
toward  him,  dearest.  It  is  indeed  a  romance  Some 
day,  no  doubt,  it  will  be  told  to  the  world  in  history." 

"  But  how  did  he  — "  Virginia  broke  off,  and  be 
gan  again :  "  Did  he  tell  this  to  Dal,  and  ask  him  to 
write  you  ?  " 

"Not  —  not  precisely  that,"  admitted  the  Grand 
Duchess,  her  face  changing  from  satisfaction  to  un 
easiness.  For  Virginia  was  difficult  in  some  ways, 
though  adorable  in  others,  and  held  such  peculiar 
[19] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
ideas    about    life  —  inherited    from    her    American 
grandmother  —  that  it  was  impossible  to  be  sure  how 
she  would  receive  the  most  ordinary  announcements. 

The  Princess's  rapt  expression  faded,  like  the 
passing  of  dawn. 

"Not  precisely  that?"  she  repeated.  "Then  what 
-how—" 

"  Well,  perhaps  —  though  it's  not  strictly  the  cor 
rect  thing  —  you  had  better  read  your  brother's  letter 
for  yourself." 

Virginia  put  her  hands  behind  her  back  with  a 
childish  gesture,  and  a  frightened  look  came  into  the 
eyes  which  at  most  times  gazed  bravely  upon  the 
world.  "I  —  somehow  I  can't,"  she  said.  " Please  tell 
me." 

"  To  begin  with,  then,  you  know  what  an  admira 
tion  Dal  has  felt  for  Count  von  Breitstein,  ever  since 
that  diplomatic  visit  the  Rhaetian  Chancellor  paid  to 
Hungaria.  The  fancy  seemed  to  be  mutual;  but  then, 
who  could  ever  resist  Dal,  if  he  wanted  to  be  liked  ? 
The  Chancellor  has  written  to  him  from  time  to  time, 
and  Dal  has  quite  enjoyed  the  correspondence;  the 
old  man  can  be  witty  as  well  as  cynical  if  he  chooses, 
and  Dal  says  he  tells  good  stories.  Now  it  seems  (in 
[20] 


WHEN  THE  NEWS  CAME 
the  informal  way  in  which  such  affairs  are  usually 
put  forward)  that  Count  von  Breitstein  has  written 
confidentially  to  Dal,  as  our  only  near  male  relative, 
asking  how  your  family  would  regard  an  alliance 
between  Leopold  and  you,  or  if  we  have  already  dis 
posed  of  your  hand.  At  last  the  Emperor  is  inclined 
to  listen  to  his  Chancellor's  advice  and  marry,  and 
you,  as  a  Protestant  Princess  —  " 

"  A  Protestant  Princess,  indeed ! "  cried  Virginia. 
"  I  protest  against  being  approached  by  him  on  such 
terms." 

The  face  of  the  Grand  Duchess  was  darkened  by 
the  gloom  of  her  thoughts.  "  My  daughter,"  she  ex 
claimed  mildly,  yet  despairingly,  "it's  not  possible 
that  when  this  wonderful  chance  —  this  unheard  of 
chance  —  this  chance  that  you  were  praying  for  — 
actually  falls  into  your  hands,  you  will  throw  it  away 
for  —  for  a  sentimental,  school-girl  scruple  ?" 

"I  was  not  praying  for  it,"  said  Virginia.  "I'm 
sure,  Mother,  you  would  have  considered  it  most 
bold  in  me  to  pray  for  it.  And  I  didn't.  I  was  only  re 
fusing  other  chances." 

"  Well,  at  all  events,  you  have  this  one  now.  It  is 
yours." 

[21] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

"  Not  in  the  one  way  I  should  have  loved  to  see  it 
come.  Oh,  Mother,  why  does  the  Emperor  want  to 
marry  me  ?  Isn't  there  some  other  reason  than  just 
because  I'm  a  proper,  Protestant  Princess  ? " 

"  Of  course,"  insisted  the  Grand  Duchess,  faintly 
encouraged.  "Dal  mentions  several  most  excellent 
reasons  in  his  letter  —  if  you  would  only  take  them 
sensibly." 

"I  should  like  to  hear  them,  at  all  events,"  an 
swered  Virginia. 

"  Well,  you  see  the  Empress  of  Rhaetia  must  be  a 
Protestant,  and  there  aren't  many  eligible  Protestant 
girls  who  would  be  acceptable  to  the  Rhaetians  — 
girls  who  would  be  popular  with  the  people.  Oh,  I 
have  finished  about  that !  You  need  not  look  so  des 
perate.  Besides,  Dal  explains  that  Leopold  is  a  young 
man  who  dominates  all  around  him.  He  wishes  to 
take  for  his  bride  a  girl  who  could  not  by  any  possibil 
ity  herself  be  heiress  to  a  throne.  Dal  fancies  that 
his  desire  is  to  mold  his  wife,  and  therefore  to  take 
a  girl  without  too  many  important  and  importunate 
relatives ;  for  he  is  not  one  who  would  dream  of  adding 
to  his  greatness  by  using  the  wealth  or  position  of  a 
woman.  He  has  all  he  needs,  or  wants,  of  that  sort. 
[22] 


WHEN  THE  NEWS  CAME 
And  then,  Dal  reminds  me,  Leopold  is  very  partial 
to  England,  who  helped  Rhaetia  passively,  in  the  time 
of  her  trouble  eight  years  ago.  The  fact  that  you  have 
lived  in  England  and  had  an  English  education, 
would  be  favorably  regarded  both  by  Leopold  and  his 
Chancellor.  And  though  I've  never  allowed  you  to 
have  a  photograph  taken,  since  you  were  a  child  (I 
hate  seeing  young  girls'  faces  in  the  newspapers  and 
magazines;  even  though  they  are  Royal,  their  features 
need  not  be  public  property !)  and  you  have  lived  here 
in  such  seclusion  that  you've  been  little  seen,  still,  the 
rumor  has  reached  Rhaetia  that  you  are  —  good  to 
look  at.  Leopold  has  been  heard  to  say  that,  what 
ever  else  the  future  Empress  of  Rhaetia  may  be,  he 
won't  give  his  people  an  ugly  woman  to  reign  over 
them.  And  so,  altogether  — " 

"And  so,  altogether,  my  references  being  satisfac 
tory,  at  a  pinch  I  might  do  for  the  place,"  cut  in  Vir 
ginia,  with  the  hot,  impatient  rebellion  of  her  youth. 
"Oh,  Mother,  you  think  me  mad  or  a  fool,  I  know; 
and  perhaps  I  am  mad ;  yet  not  mad  enough  not  to  see 
that  it  would  be  a  great  thing,  a  wonderful  thing  to  be 
asked  in  marriage  by  the  One  Man  in  my  world,  if  — 
ah,  that  great  'if  —  he  had  only  seen  and  fallen  in 
[23] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
love  with  me.  It  might  have  happened,  you  know. 
As  you  say,  I'm  not  ugly.  And  I  can  be  rather  pleas 
ant  if  I  choose  —  so  I  believe.  If  he  had  only  come  to 
this  land,  to  see  what  I  was  like,  as  Royal  men  did  in 
the  dear  old  fairy  stories,  and  then  had  asked  me  to  be 
his  wife,  why,  I  should  have  been  conceited  enough 
to  think  it  was  because  he  loved  me,  even  more  than 
because  of  other  things.  Then  I  should  have  been 
happy  —  yes,  dear,  I'll  confess  it  to  you  now  —  al 
most  happy  enough  to  die  of  the  great  joy  and  triumph 
of  it.  But  now  I'm  not  happy.  I  will  marry  Leopold, 
or  I'll  marry  no  man.  But  I  swear  to  you,  I  won't  be 
married  to  Leopold  in  Count  von  Breitstein's  hate 
ful  old,  cold,  cut-and-dried  way." 

"It's  the  Emperor's  way  as  well  as  von  Breit 
stein's." 

"Then  for  once  in  his  big,  grand,  obstinate  life 
he'll  have  to  learn  that  there  s  one  insignificant  girl 
who  won't  play  Griselda,  even  for  the  sake  of  being 
his  Empress." 

The  girl  proclaimed  this  resolve,  rising  to  her  feet, 

with  her  head  high,  and  a  look  in  her  gray  eyes  which 

told  the  Grand  Duchess  that  it  would  be  hopeless  for 

her  to  argue  down  the  resolution.    At  first  it  was  a 

[24] 


WHEN  THE  NEWS  CAME 
proud  look,  and  a  sad  look;  but  suddenly  a  beam  of 
light  flashed  into  it,  and  began  to  sparkle  and  twinkle. 
Virginia  smiled,  and  showed  her  dimples.  Her  color 
came  and  went.  In  a  moment  she  was  a  different  girl, 
and  her  mother,  bewildered,  fearful  still,  dared  to 
hope  something  from  the  change. 

"How  odd  you  look!"  she  exclaimed.  "You've 
thought  of  something.  You  are  happy.  You  have  the 
air  of  —  of  having  found  some  plan." 

"  It  found  me,  I  think,"  the  girl  answered,  laugh 
ing.  "  All  suddenly  —  just  in  a  flash.  That's  the  way 
it  must  be  with  inspirations.  This  is  one  —  I  know 
it.  It's  all  in  the  air  —  floating  round  me.  But  I  shall 
grasp  it  soon." 

She  came  close  to  her  mother,  still  smiling,  and 
knelt  down  in  the  grass  at  her  feet,  looking  up  with 
radiance  in  her  eyes. 

Luckily  there  was  no  one  save  the  Dresden  china 
lady  and  the  birds  and  flowers  to  see  how  a  young 
Princess  threw  her  mantle  of  dignity  away;  for  the 
two  did  not  keep  Royal  state  and  a  Royal  retinue  in 
the  quaint  old  house  at  Hampton  Court;  and  the  big 
elm  which  Virginia  loved,  kindly  hid  the  mother  and 
daughter  from  intrusive  eyes. 
[25] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
"  You  do  love  me,  don't  you,  dearest  ?  "  cooed  the 
Princess,  softly  as  a  dove. 

"You  know  I  do,  my  child,  though  I  don't  pre 
tend  to  understand  you,"  sighed  the  Grand  Duchess, 
well  aware  that  she  was  about  to  be  coaxed  into  some 
scheme,  feeling  that  she  would  yield,  and  praying 
Providence  that  the  yielding  might  not  lead  her  into 
tribulation. 

"  People  grow  dull  if  we  understand  them  to  well," 
said  Virginia.  "  It's  like  solving  a  puzzle.  There's  no 
more  fun  in  it,  when  it's  finished.  But  you  wish  me  to 
be  happy,  darling  ?  " 

"  More  than  I  wish  for  anything  else,  excepting  of 
course  dear  Dai's  —  " 

"  Dal  is  a  man  and  can  take  care  of  himself.  /  must 
do  the  best  I  can  —  poor  me !  And  there's  something 
I  want  so  much,  so  much,  it  would  be  heaven  on 
earth,  all  my  own,  if  I  could  win  it.  Leopold's  love, 
quite  for  myself,  as  a  girl,  not  as  a  'suitable  Protestant 
Princess.'  For  a  few  horrid  minutes,  I  thought  it  was 
too  late  to  hope  for  that,  and  I  must  give  him  up, 
because  I  never  could  be  sure  if  I  accepted  him  with 
out  his  love,  and  he  said  it  had  come  afterwards,  that 
it  was  really,  really  true.  Anyway,  it  could  never  be  the 

[26] 


WHEN    THE    NEWS    CAME 
same;  and  I  was  miserable  over  what  might  have 
been.  Then,  suddenly,  I  saw  how  it  still  might  be.  I 
almost  think  I  may  be  able  to  win  his  love,  if  you'll 
promise  to  help  me,  dear." 

"Of  course  I  will,"  said  the  Grand  Duchess,  car 
ried  out  of  her  pretty  little,  conventional  self  into 
unwonted  impulsiveness,  by  the  warmth  of  kisses 
soft  and  sweet  as  the  roses  on  Virginia's  bosom. 

"  That  is,  I  will  if  I  can.  But  I  don't  at  all  see  what  I 
can  do." 

"I  see.  And  what  I  want  you  to  do,  is  to  please, 
please  see  with  my  eyes." 

"  They're  very  bright  ones,"  smiled  her  mother. 

Princess  Virginia  clasped  the  Grand  Duchess 
round  the  waist  so  tightly  that  it  hurt.  Then  she 
laughed,  an  odd,  half-f right ened,  excited  laugh. 
*'  Dearest,  something  perfectly  wonderful  is  going  to 
happen  to  you  and  me,"  she  said.  "  The  most  won 
derful  thing  that  ever  has  happened.  We  are  going 
to  have  a  —  great  —  adventure.  And  what  the  end 
of  it  will  be  —  I  don't  know." 


[27] 


CHAPTER  II 
FOUR  GENTLEMEN  OF  IMPORTANCE 

TWILIGHT   fell  late  in  the   tiny   Rhaetian 
village  of  Alleheiligen.  So  high  on  the  moun 
tain  side  were  perched  the  simple  inn  and 
the  group  of  brown  chalets  clustering  round  the  big 
church  with  its  bulbous,  Oriental  spire,  that  they 
caught  the  last  red  rays  of  sunset  and  held  them 
flashing  on  burnished  copper  roof  plates,  and  jeweling 
small,    bright  window-panes  long    after  the  green 
valley  below  was  curtained  with  shadow. 

One  September  evening,  two  dusty  traveling 
carriages  toiled  up  the  steep,  winding  road  that  led 
to  the  highest  hamlet  of  the  Rhaetian  Alps,  and  a 
girl  walking  beside  the  foremost  driver  (minded,  as 
he  was,  to  save  the  jaded  horses)  looked  up  to  see 
Alleheiligen  glittering  like  a  necklet  of  gems  on  the 
brown  throat  of  the  mountain.  Each  window  was  a 
great,  separate  ruby  set  in  gold;  the  copper  bulb 
[28] 


FOUR  GENTLEMEN  OF  IMPORTANCE 

that  crowned  the  church  steeple  was  a  burning  car 
buncle;  while  above  the  flashing  band  of  gorgeous 
color,  the  mountain  reared  its  head,  facing  westward, 
its  steadfast  features  carved  in  stone,  the  brow  snow 
capped  and  rosy  where  the  sun  touched  it,  blue  where 
the  shadows  lay. 

The  driver  assured  the  young  English  lady,  whom 
he  much  admired  for  her  pluck  as  well  as  beauty, 
that  she  had  far  better  return  to  the  carriage;  that 
indeed,  she  need  not  have  left  it.  Her  extra  weight 
would  be  but  as  that  of  a  feather  to  the  horses,  which 
were  used  to  carrying  far  heavier  loads  than  that  of 
to-day,  up  the  steep  mountain  road  to  Alleheiligen  in 
the  "high"  season  of  July  and  August,  when  many 
tourists  from  all  countries  came  to  rest  for  a  night 
and  see  the  wonderful  view.  He  even  grew  voluble 
in  his  persuasions,  but  the  girl  still  smilingly  insisted 
that  she  liked  walking,  and  the  brown-faced  fellow 
with  the  soft  green  hat  and  curly  cock  feather  ad 
mired  her  the  more  for  her  firmness  and  endurance. 

She  was  plainly  dressed  in  gray,  which  did  not 

show  the  dust,  and  though  her  skirt  and  short  jacket 

were  well  made,  and  her  neat  little  hat  jaunty  and 

becoming  —  almost     dangerously     becoming  —  she 

[29] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
was  not  half  as  grand  in  appearance  as  some  of  the 
ladies  who  drove  up  with  him  in  July  and  August. 
Still,  the  man  said  to  himself,  there  was  an  air  about 
her  —  no,  he  could  not  describe  it  even  to  himself  - 
but  it  meant  distinction.  And  then,  as  she  was  Eng 
lish,  it  was  as  pleasing  as  it  was  remarkable  that  she 
could  speak  Rhaetian  so  prettily.  She  had  learned  it, 
she  said  when  he  respectfully  ventured  a  question, 
because,  since  she  was  a  child,  she  had  taken  an  in 
terest  in  Rhaetian  history  and  literature.  And  this 
seemed  strange  to  him,  that  so  dainty  a  lady  should 
have  learned  such  a  language  for  pleasure,  because 
the  people  of  most  countries  found  it  excessively 
difficult  —  as  difficult  as  Hungarian  and  just  enough 
like  German  to  make  it  even  more  difficult,  perhaps. 
But  this  English  girl  said  she  had  picked  it  up  easily; 
and  the  young  man's  heart  warmed  to  her  when  she 
praised  Rhaetian  music  and  Rhaetian  poetry. 

This  was  the  last  touch;  this  won  him  wholly;  and 
without  stopping  further  to  analyze  or  account  for 
his  admiration,  the  driver  of  the  first  carriage  found 
himself  bestowing  confidences  upon  his  gracious 
companion  as  they  slowly  tramped  up  the  winding 
road,  the  reins  looped  over  his  arm. 
[30] 


FOUR  GENTLEMEN  OF  IMPORTANCE 
He  told  her  of  his  life;  how  he  had  not  always  lived 
down  there  in  the  valley  and  driven  tourists  for  a 
living.  Before  he  fell  in  love  and  married  a  valley 
girl,  and  had  a  young  family  to  rear,  his  house  had 
been  aloft,  in  Alleheiligen.  He  was  born  on  the  moun 
tain  side;  his  mother  still  lived  in  the  village.  It  was 
she  who  kept  the  inn.  Ach,  but  a  good  woman,  and 
a  cook  to  the  king's  taste  —  or  rather,  the  Emperor's 
taste  —  if  it  was  her  own  son  who  said  it. 

He  was  glad  that  the  English  ladies  would  be  stop 
ping  with  her  for  a  few  days  at  this  season.  She  would 
make  them  comfortable,  more  comfortable  than 
would  be  possible  at  a  crowded  time,  and  then,  be 
sides,  after  the  season  was  over,  and  the  strangers  had 
been  frightened  away  by  the  first  flurry  of  snow,  the 
poor  mother  grew  lonely  and  tired  of  idleness.  Oh 
yes,  she  stayed  the  winter  through.  It  was  home  to 
her.  There  were  not  many  neighbors,  then,  it  was 
true,  yet  she  would  not  be  happy  to  go  away.  Moun 
tain  folk  never  really  learned  to  love  the  valleys. 

What,  the  ladies  had  not  written  to  the  inn  in  ad 
vance  ?  Ah,  well,  that  would  not  matter  at  this  season. 
There  would  be  rooms,  and  to  spare;  the  ladies  could 
take  their  choice;  and  the  mother  would  have  a 
[31] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
pleasant  surprise.  Glad  he  was  that  he  chanced  to  be 
the  one  to  bring  it. 

Those  who  knew  Frau  Yorvan,  know  that  her 
larder  was  never  empty  of  good  things,  and  that  her 
linen  was  aired  and  scented  with  the  dried  lavender 
blossoms  gathered  down  below.  Indeed,  she  had 
need  to  be  ever  in  readiness  for  distinguished  guests, 
because  sometimes  —  but  the  eloquent  tongue  of 
Alois  Yorvan  was  suddenly  silent,  like  the  clapper  of 
a  church  bell  which  the  ringers  have  ceased  to  pull, 
and  his  sunburnt  face  grew  sheepish. 

"  Because  sometimes  ? "  echoed  the  girl,  in  her 
pretty  Rhaetian.  "What  happens  sometimes,  that 
your  mother  must  ever  be  expecting  ? " 

"Oh,"  the  man  stammered  a  little  foolishly,  "I 
was  but  going  to  say  that  she  has  sometimes  to  enter 
tain  people  of  the  high  nobility,  of  different  nations. 
Alleheiligen,  though  small,  is  rather  celebrated,  you 
know." 

"  Has  your  Emperor  been  here  ?  "  asked  the  young 
lady. 

"  It  may  be,"  answered  Alois,  jauntily.  "  It  may  be. 
Our  Emperor  has  been  to  most  places." 

His  companion  smiled  and  put  no  more  questions. 
[32] 


FOUR  GENTLEMEN  OF  IMPORTANCE 

Slowly  they  climbed  on;  the  two  carriages,  con 
taining  the  English  girl's  mother,  a  middle-aged 
companion,  a  French  maid,  and  a  reasonable  supply 
of  luggage,  toiling  up  behind,  the  harness  jingling 
with  a  faint  sound  as  of  fairy  bells. 

Then  at  last  they  came  to  the  inn,  a  quaint  house, 
half  of  stone,  half  of  rich  brown  shingles;  a  huge 
picture,  crowded  with  saints  of  special  importance  to 
Alleheiligen,  painted  in  once  crude,  now  faded  colors, 
on  a  swinging  sign.  A  characteristic,  yodeling  cry 
from  Alois,  sent  forth  before  the  highest  turn  of  the 
road  was  reached,  brought  an  apple-cheeked  and 
white-capped  old  woman  to  the  door ;  then  it  was  the 
youngest  of  the  travelers  who  asked,  with  a  pleasant 
greeting  in  Rhaetian,  for  the  best  suite  of  rooms 
which  Frau  Yorvan  could  give. 

But  to  the  girl's  astonishment  the  landlady  showed 
none  of  the  delight  her  son  had  predicted.  Surprised 
she  certainly  was,  even  startled,  and  certainly  em 
barrassed.  For  an  instant  she  seemed  to  hesitate  be 
fore  replying,  then  her  emotion  was  partly  explained 
by  her  words.  Unfortunately  her  best  rooms  were 
engaged ;  four  of  the  bedrooms  with  the  choicest  view, 
and  the  one  private  sitting-room  the  inn  possessed. 
[33] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
But  if  the  ladies  would  put  up  with  the  second  best, 
she  would  gladly  accommodate  them.  Was  it  but  for 
the  night  ?  Oh,  for  several  days !  (Again  the  apple 
face  looked  dubious.)  Well,  if  the  ladies  would  grac 
iously  enter,  and  choose  from  what  she  had  to  offer, 
she  would  be  honored. 

They  did  enter  and  presently  wrote  their  names  as 
Lady  Mowbray,  Miss  Mowbray,  Miss  Manchester, 
and  maid.  An  hour  later  when  the  new-comers, 
mother,  daughter  and  dame  de  compagnie,  sat  down 
to  a  hot  supper  in  a  bed-chamber  hastily  but  skilfully 
transformed  into  a  private  dining-room,  the  youngest 
of  the  three  remarked  to  Frau  Yorvan  upon  the 
peaceful  stillness  of  her  house. 

"One  would  think  there  wasn't  a  soul  about  the 
place  except  ourselves,"  said  she,  "  yet  you've  told  us 
you  have  other  guests." 

"The  gentlemen  who  are  stopping  here  are  away 
all  day  long  in  the  mountains,"  explained  Frau 
Yorvan.  "It  is  now  the  time  for  chamois  hunting 
and  it  is  for  that,  and  also  the  climbing  of  a  strange 
group  of  rocks  called  the  Bunch  of  Needles,  only  to 
be  done  by  great  experts,  that  they  come  to  me." 

"They  are  out  late  this  evening.  Aren't  you  be- 
[34] 


FOUR  GENTLEMEN  OF  IMPORTANCE 
ginning  to  be  a  little  anxious  about  them,  if  they  go 
to  such  dangerous  places  ?  " 

"Oh,  to-night,  gracious  Fraulein,  they  will  not 
return  at  all,"  said  the  landlady,  warming  impulsive 
ly  to  the  subject.  "They  often  stop  at  a  kind  of  hut 
they  have  near  the  top  of  the  mountain,  to  begin  some 
climb  they  may  wish  to  undertake  very  early.  They 
are  much  closer  to  it  there,  you  see,  and  it  saves  their 
wasting  several  hours  on  the  way.  They  are  constantly 
in  the  habit  of  stopping  at  the  hut,  in  fine  weather; 
but  they  are  very  considerate;  they  always  let  me 
know  their  plans  beforehand." 

"  If  they're  away  so  much,  I  think  it  a  little  selfish 
in  them  to  keep  your  one  private  sitting-room,  when 
you  might  need  it  for  others,"  remarked  the  girl. 

"  Oh,  but  gracious  Fraulein,  you  must  not  say 
that ! "  cried  the  old  woman,  looking  as  much  shocked 
as  if  her  young  guest  had  broken  one  of  the  com 
mandments. 

The  girl  laughed.  "Why  not  ?"  she  inquired.  "  Are 
the  gentlemen  of  such  importance  that  they  mustn't 
be  criticized  by  strangers  ? " 

Frau  Yorvan  was  embarrassed.  "They  are  ex 
cellent  patrons  of  mine,  gracious  Fraulein,  that  is  all 
[35] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
I  meant,"  said  she.  "  I  cannot  bear  that  unjust  things 
should  be  thought  of  such  —  good  gentlemen." 

"  I  was  only  joking,"  the  girl  reassured  her.  "  We 
are  perfectly  satisfied  with  this  room,  which  you  have 
made  most  comfortable.  All  I  care  for  is  that  the 
famous  walks  in  the  neighborhood  shall  not  be  private. 
I  may,  at  least,  walk  as  much  as  I  like  and  even  climb 
a  little,  I  and  my  friend,  Miss  Manchester,  who  is  a 
daring  mountaineer,"  (with  this  she  threw  a  glance  at 
the  middle-aged  lady  in  black,  who  visibly  started 
and  grew  wild-eyed  in  response)  "  for  I  suppose  that 
your  guests  have  not  engaged  the  whole  Schneehorn 
for  their  own." 

The  landlady's  hospitable  smile  returned.  "  No, 
gracious  Fraulein.  You  are  free  to  wander  as  you 
will,  but  do  not,  I  beg  you,  go  too  far,  or  attempt  any 
climbs  of  real  difficulty,  for  they  are  not  to  be  done 
without  guides;  and  take  care  you  do  not  stray  into 
wild  places  where,  by  making  some  movement  or 
sound  before  you  were  seen  by  the  hunters,  you  might 
be  mistaken  for  a  chamois." 

"  Even  our  prowess  is  hardly  likely  to  lead  us  into 
such  peril  as  that,"  laughed  the  girl,  who  seemed 
much  more  friendly  and  inclined  toward  conversa- 
[36] 


FOUR  GENTLEMEN  OF  IMPORTANCE 
tion  than  the  two  elders  of  the  party.  "  But  please 
wake  us  early  to-morrow  morning.  My  friend  Miss 
Manchester  and  I  would  like  to  have  breakfasted 
and  be  ready  for  a  start  by  eight  o'clock  at  latest." 

Again  the  placid  features  of  the  lady  in  black 
quivered ;  and  though  she  said  nothing,  Frau  Yorvan 
pitied  her.  "  Would  you  not  wish,  in  any  case,  to  have 
a  guide  ? "  she  asked.  "  I  could  engage  you  an  in 
telligent  young  man  who  — 

"Thank  you,  no,"  broke  in  the  girl,  decidedly. 
"  A  guide-book  is  preferable  to  a  guide,  for  what  we 
mean  to  do.  We  sha'n't  attempt  any  places  which  the 
book  says  are  unsafe  for  amateurs.  But  what  an  ex 
cellent  engraving  that  is  over  the  fireplace,  with  the 
chamois  horns  above  it.  Isn't  that  a  portrait  of  your 
Emperor  when  he  was  a  boy  ?  " 

The  landlady's  eyes  darted  to  the  picture.  "Ach, 
I  had  meant  to  carry  it  away,"  she  muttered. 

The  girl's  quick  ears  caught  the  words.  "Why 
should  you  carry  it  away  ?  Don't  you  love  the  Em 
peror,  that  you  would  put  his  face  out  of  sight  ?  " 

"Not  love  Unser  Leo?"  cried  the  old  woman, 
horrified.  "Why,  we  worship  him,  gracious  Fraulein; 
we  would  die  for  him,  any  day,  all  of  us  mountain 
[37] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
people  —  and  yes,  all  Rhaetians,  I  believe.  I  could 
not  let  you  go  back  to  your  own  land  with  the  idea 
that  we  do  not  love  the  noblest  Emperor  country 
ever  had.  As  for  what  I  said  about  the  portrait,  I 
didn't  know  that  I  spoke  aloud,  I  am  so  used  to 
mumbling  to  myself,  since  I  began  to  grow  deaf  and 
old.  But  of  course,  I  wished  it  put  away  only  because 
it  is  such  a  poor  thing,  it  does  Unser  Leo  no  sort  of 
justice.  You  —  you  would  not  recognize  him  from 
that  picture,  if  you  were  to  see  him  now." 

With  this  excuse,  Frau  Yorvan  hurried  out  to  fetch 
another  dish,  which  she  said  must  be  ready;  to  cool 
her  hot  face,  and  to  scold  herself  for  her  stupidity, 
all  the  way  down-stairs. 

She  was  gone  some  time;  and  the  girl  who  had,  no 
doubt  unwittingly,  occasioned  the  old  woman's  un 
easiness,  took  advantage  of  her  absence  to  laugh, 
excited,  happy  laughter. 

"  Poor,  transparent  old  dear,  so  pleased  and  proud 
of  her  great  secret,  which  she  thinks  she's  keeping  so 
well!"  she  exclaimed.  "I'm  sure  she  doesn't  dream 
that  she's  as  easy  to  read  as  a  book  with  big,  big  print. 
She's  in  a  sad  fright  now,  lest  we  inconvenient 
foreigners  should  chance  upon  her  grand  gentlemen 
[38] 


FOUR  GENTLEMEN  OF  IMPORTANCE 
to-morrow,  recognize  one  of  them  from  the  portrait, 
and  spoil  his  precious  incognito." 

"  Then  —  you  think  that  he  is  really  here  —  in 
this  out  of  the  way  eyrie  ?  "  half  whispered  the  Grand 
Duchess. 

"I  feel  sure  he  is,"  answered  Princess  Virginia. 

For  a  moment  there  was  silence.  Then  said  the 
Grand  Duchess,  with  an  air  of  resignation.  "  Well,  I 
suppose  we  should  be  glad  —  since  we  have  come  to 
Rhaetia  for  the  purpose  of  —  dear  me,  I  can  scarcely 
bring  myself  to  say  it." 

"You  may  say  it,  since  our  dear  old  lamb  of  a 
Letitia  knows  all  about  it,  and  is  in  with  us,"  returned 
Virginia.  "  But  —  but  I  truly  didn't  expect  to  find 
him  here.  One  knows  he  comes  sometimes;  it's  been 
in  the  papers ;  but  this  time  they  had  it  that  he'd  gone 
to  make  a  week's  visit  to  poor  old  General  von  Bors- 
lok  at  the  Baths  of  Melina;  and  I  thought,  before 
we  went  to  Kronburg  with  all  our  pretty  letters 
of  introduction,  as  he  was  away  from  the  palace 
there,  it  would  be  idyllic  to  use  up  the  time 
with  a  visit  to  Alleheiligen.  I  don't  want  you 
and  Letitia  to  think  that  I  was  just  making 
catspaws  of  you  both,  and  forcing  you  without 
[39] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

knowing,  to  help  me  unearth  him  in  his  lair.  Still, 
as  he  is  here  — 

"  Perhaps  he  isn't,"  suggested  the  Grand  Duchess. 
"  I  don't  see  that  you  have  much  ground  for  fancying 
so." 

"  Oh,  ground  !  "  echoed  Virginia,  scornfully.  "  It's 
instinct  that  I  go  upon,  not  ground.  That  woman's 
face  when  she  saw  foreign  tourists  at  her  door,  out  of 
season,  when  she  had  a  right  to  think  she  was  safe 
from  invasion.  Her  stammering  about  the  best  rooms 
being  taken;  her  wish  to  get  rid  of  us;  her  distress 
that  she  couldn't  possibly  do  so,  without  making 
matters  worse.  The  way  she  talks  of  her  '  four  gentle 
men.'  Her  horror  at  my  lese  majeste.  Her  confusion 
about  the  portraits;  her  wish  to  impress  it  upon  us 
that  Unser  Leo  is  quite  changed.  Instinct  ought  to  be 
ashamed  if  it  couldn't  play  detective  as  far  as  that. 
But  —  of  course  we  may  not  see  him.  If  she  can  help 
it,  we  won't.  He  won't  like  being  run  to  earth  by 
tourists,  when  he  is  amusing  himself;  and  perhaps 
the  trusty  landlady  will  send  the  intelligent  young 
guide  whom  I  refused,  to  warn  him,  so  that  if  he 
chooses  he  can  keep  out  of  the  way." 

"I  almost  hope  she  may  send,"  said  the  Grand 
140] 


FOUR  GENTLEMEN  OF  IMPORTANCE 
Duchess.  "  I  don't  think  Providence  wills  a  meeting 
here.  You  have  brought  no  pretty  dresses.  I  should 
like  him  to  see  you  first  when  you  look  your  best, 
since,  to  your  mind,  so  much  depends  upon  his  feel 
ings  in  this  matter." 

"  Our  first  meeting  is  —  on  the  knees  of  the  gods," 
murmured  Virginia. 

And  then  Frau  Yorvan  came  into  the  room  with  a 
souffle. 


[41] 


CHAPTER  III 
A  CHAMOIS  HUNTER 

**p  •  ^HIS  is  perfectly  appalling!"  groaned 
the  unfortunate  lady  who  passed,  for 
this  adventure,  under  the  name  of  Miss 
Manchester. 

"  Perfectly  glorious ! "  amended  her  companion. 

The  elder  lady  pressed  Baedeker  to  her  bosom,  and 
sat  down,  with  some  abruptness.  '*  I  shall  have  to  stop 
here,"  she  panted,  "  all  the  rest  of  my  life,  and  have 
my  meals  and  my  night  things  sent  up.  I'm  very  sorry. 
But  I'm  certain  I  shall  never  be  able  to  go  back." 

"Don't  be  absurd,  my  poor  dear;  we're  absolutely 
safe,"  said  Virginia.  "  I  may  be  a  selfish  wretch,  but 
I  wouldn't  for  the  world  have  brought  you  into  dan 
ger.  You  needn't  go  down  yet.  Let's  explore  a  little 
further.  It's  easier  than  turning  back.  Surely  you  can 
go  on.  Baedeker  says  you  can.  In  ten  minutes  you'll 
be  at  the  top  of  the  coir 

[42] 


A    CHAMOIS    HUNTER 

"You  may  as  well  tell  me  that  I'll  be  in  my  grave. 
It  amounts  to  the  same  thing,"  wailed  Miss  Man 
chester,  who  was,  in  the  sphere  of  happier  duties, 
Miss  Letitia  Portman,  and  had  been  the  Princess's 
governess.  "I  can't  look  down;  I  can't  look  up,  be 
cause  I  keep  thinking  of  the  unspeakable  things  be 
hind.  After  I  get  my  breath  and  have  become  resigned 
to  my  fate,  I  may  be  comparatively  comfortable  here, 
for  some  years;  but  as  to  stirring  either  way,  there's 
no  use  dreaming  of  it." 

"Well,  you'll  make  an  ideal  hermitess,"  said  Vir 
ginia.  "  You've  exactly  the  right  features  for  that  pro 
fession;  austere,  yet  benevolent.  But  you're  not  really 
afraid  now  ?  " 

"  Not  so  much,  sitting  down,"  admitted  Miss  Port 
man,  slowly  regaining  her  natural  color. 

"Do  you  think  then,  dear,  that  you'd  relapse  and 
lose  your  head  or  anything,  if  I  just  strolled  on  alone 
to  the  top  of  the  col  for  the  view  which  the  guide-book 
says  is  so  fine,  and  then  came  back  to  organize  a  relief 
expedition,  say  in  about  half  an  hour  or  so  ?  " 

"No-o, "  said  Miss  Portman,  "I  suppose  I  can 
bear  it.  I  may  as  well  accustom  myself  to  loneliness, 
as  I  am  obliged  to  spend  my  remaining  years  on  this 
[43] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
spot.  But  I'm  not  at  all  sure  the  Duchess  would  ap 
prove  - 

"  You  mean  Lady  Mowbray.  She  wouldn't  mind. 
She  knows  I've  a  good  head  and  —  physically  —  a 
good  heart.  Besides,  I  shall  have  only  myself  to  look 
after.  And  one  really  doesn't  need  a  chaperon  in 
going  to  make  an  early  call  on  a  mountain  view." 

"  Dearest  Princess,  I'm  not  so  sure  of  that,  in  re 
gard  to  this  mountain  view." 

"  Miss  Mowbray,  please.  You're  very  subtle.  But  I 
really  haven't  come  out  to  look  for  the  Mountain 
View  you  refer  to.  You  needn't  think  it.  I  don't  know 
where  his  lair  is,  but  it's  probably  miles  from  here, 
and  if  I  knew  I  wouldn't  hunt  him  there.  That  would 
be  un  pen  trop  fort;  and  anyway,  I'm  inclined  to  be 
lieve  that  Mother  is  right  about  those  dresses.  I  shall 
have  such  nice  ones  at  Kronburg !  So  you  see  you  can 
conscientiously  give  me  your  blessing  and  let  me  go." 

"  My  dear !  As  if  I  could  have  suspected  you  would 
search  for  him !  You  are  in  Rhaetia  not  to  pursue,  but 
to  give  an  Emperor,  who  wishes  to  have  a  certain 
Princess  for  his  consort,  a  chance  to  fall  in  love  with 
herself." 

"  If  he  will  —  if  it  can  be  so.  But  what  do  Helen 
[44] 


A    CHAMOIS    HUNTER 

Mowbray  and  Letitia  Manchester  know  about  the 
love  affairs  of  emperors  and  princesses  ?  Au  revoir, 
dear  friend ;  I'm  going.  By  and  by,  if  you  have  courage 
to  lift  your  eyes,  you'll  see  me  waving  a  handkerchief 
flag  at  the  rock-corner  up  there." 

Virginia  took  the  alpenstock  which  she  had  laid 
down,  and  began  picking  her  way  daintily  yet  pluckily 
toward  the  col  which  she  had  named  as  her  goal. 
There  was  another  route  to  it,  leading  on  to  the  high 
est  peak  of  the  Schneehorn,  only  to  be  dared  by  ex 
perienced  climbers,  but  the  way  by  which  the  girl  and 
her  companion  had  set  out  from  Alleheiligen  nearly 
four  hours  ago,  was  merely  fatiguing,  never  danger 
ous,  and  Virginia  knew  that  Miss  Portman  was 
safe,  and  not  half  as  much  frightened  as  she  pre 
tended. 

They  had  started  at  eight,  just  as  the  September 
sun  had  begun  to  draw  the  night  chill  out  of  the 
keen  mountain  air;  and  now  it  was  close  upon  twelve. 
The  Princess  was  hungry. 

In  Nordeck,  the  frontier  town  of  Rhaetia  as  you 

come  in  from  Germany,  she  had  bought  rucksacks 

for  herself  and  Miss  Portman,  to  be  used  upon  just 

such  mountain  excursions  as  this;  and  to-day  the 

[45] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
brown  canvas  bags  were  being  tested  for  the  first 
time.  Each  rucksack  stored  an  adequate  luncheon  for 
its  bearer,  while  on  top,  secured  by  straps  passed 
across  the  shoulders,  lay  a  folded  wrap  to  be  used  in 
case  of  rain. 

Virginia's  burden  grew  heavy  as  she  mounted, 
though  at  first  its  weight  had  seemed  trifling.  When 
she  had  waved  her  handkerchief  at  the  turning,  and 
passed  out  of  Miss  Portman's  sight,  it  occurred  to  her 
that  it  would  be  clever  to  lighten  the  rucksack  and 
satisfy  her  appetite  at  the  same  time. 

The  one  difficulty  was  that,  in  her  present  position, 
she  could  not  safely  unstrap  the  bag  from  her  shoul 
ders,  open  it,  take  out  the  parcel  of  luncheon,  and 
strap  it  on  again.  The  way  was  too  narrow,  and  the 
rocks  too  slippery,  to  attempt  such  liberties;  at  a  short 
distance,  however,  and  only  a  little  out  of  the  path  to 
the  col,  she  could  see  a  small  green  plateau,  the  very 
place  for  a  rest.  But  could  she  reach  it  ?  The  girl  stood 
still,  and  looked  wistfully  across. 

The  place  could  be  gained  only  by  a  scramble  over 

a  ledge  of  formidable  rocks,  and  climbing  in  good 

earnest  here  and  there,  yet  —  if  the  thing  could  be 

done  at  all,  it  could  be  done  in  ten  minutes,  and  to 

[46] 


A    CHAMOIS    HUNTER 

come  back  would   be  comparatively   easy.  Virginia 
was  tempted. 

"  The  dear  Letitia  will  be  eating  her  own  lunch  by 
this  time,  and  won't  miss  me  if  my  half  hour  is  a  long 
one,"  she  thought.  "  And  anyway,  I  said  half  an  hour 
or  so.  That  means  almost  anything,  when  it  comes  to 
an  argument." 

Another  moment,  and  the  girl  had  started.  She  was 
brave  at  first ;  but  when  she  had  gone  half  way  —  a 
way  which  was  longer  and  far  more  difficult  than  she 
had  fancied  —  she  was  conscious  of  a  certain  sinking 
of  the  heart.  She  even  felt  some  qualms  of  sympathy 
with  the  sentiments  and  intentions  Miss  Portman 
had  expressed,  and  heartily  wished  herself  back  by 
that  good  lady's  side.  But  it  was  against  her  principles 
to  be  conquered,  especially  when  being  conquered 
meant  turning  coward,  or  something  like  it,  and  she 
scrambled  on  obstinately,  her  cheeks  burning,  her 
heart  thumping,  and  her  lips  pressed  together. 

What  a  grim,  remorseless  giant  the  mountain  was, 
and  what  a  mere,  creeping  fly  upon  its  vast  shoulder, 
she!  Little  cared  the  old  mountain  that  she  was  a 
Royal  Princess,  and  that  the  Emperor  who  ruled  the 
land  of  which  it  was  part,  had  the  intention  of  marry  - 
[47] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
ing  her.  It  would  thwart  that  imperial  intention  with 
out  a  qualm,  nor  turn  a  pebble  if  the  poor  little  Prin 
cess  toppled  over  its  cruel  shoulder  and  fell  in  a  small, 
crushed  heap,  without  ever  having  looked  upon  the 
face  of  the  Rhaetian  Emperor. 

Then  there  came  a  later  moment  when,  like  Miss 
Portman,  whom  she  had  so  recently  laughed  to  scorn, 
the  Princess  felt  that  she  could  neither  go  on,  nor  go 
back.  She  was  horribly  homesick.  She  wanted  her 
mother  and  the  garden  at  Hampton  Court,  and  would 
hardly  have  thrown  a  glance  of  interest  at  Leopold  if 
he  had  appeared  before  her  eyes.  There  were  tears 
in  those  eyes  and  she  was  hating  the  mountain,  and  all 
Rhaetia,  with  her  whole  strength,  when  from  the 
mysterious  distance  round  the  corner  of  the  plateau 
there  came  the  sound  of  a  man's  voice,  cheerfully 
yodeling. 

Never  had  a  sound  been  so  welcome,  or  seemed  so 
sweet.  It  was  to  Virginia  as  the  voice  of  an  angel. 
"Help!"  she  called.  "Help!"  first  in  English,  and 
then,  on  second  thoughts,  in  Rhaetian. 

The  yodeling  abruptly  stopped,  and  a  man  appeared 
round  a  corner  of  rock  beyond  the  green  plateau. 
The  sun  shone  in  his  eyes,  and  he  shaded  them  with 
[48] 


A    CHAMOIS    HUNTER 

his  hand  to  look  up  at  her.  Virginia  stared,  hopefully, 
expectantly.  A  glance  photographed  a  tall  figure  in 
a  gray  coat  passemoiled  with  green;  a  soft  green  cap 
of  felt;  short  trousers;  bare  knees;  knitted  stockings; 
nailed  boots.  Thank  heaven,  no  tourist,  but  evidently 
a  mountain  man,  a  guide  or  a  chamois  hunter,  per 
haps;  at  all  events,  one  capable  of  coming  to  her 
rescue.  These  things  she  saw  and  thought,  in  a  flash; 
And  then,  the  brown  hand  that  had  shaded  his  eyes, 
dropped.  She  caught  sight  of  his  face. 

It  was  the  Emperor. 

A  moment  ago  she  had  felt  that  she  could  look  at 
him  with  indifference,  and  would  a  thousand  times 
over  prefer  a  glimpse  of  the  dear  old  house  at  Hamp 
ton  Court,  with  an  easy  way  to  reach  it.  But  now, 
everything  was  changed.  There  was  no  longer  any 
danger.  He  was  there.  He  was  coming  to  help  her.  A 
Power  higher  than  his  had  arranged  this  as  their  first 
encounter,  and  would  not  have  taken  the  trouble  to 
bring  him  to  her  here,  if  the  meeting  were  to  end  in 
ignominy  or  disaster. 

He  had  run  across  the  plateau;  now  the  nailed 
boots  were  ringing  on  rock.  She  could  gaze  down 
upon  his  head,  he  was  so  close  to  her.  He  was  looking 
[49] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
up.  What  a  noble  face  it  was !  Better  than  all  the  pic 
tures.  And  the  eyes  — 

Virginia  was  suddenly  and  wildly  happy.  She  could 
have  sung  for  joy,  a  song  of  triumph,  and  losing  her 
head  a  little  she  lost  her  scant  foothold  as  well,  slip 
ped,  tried  to  hold  on,  failed,  and  slid  down  the  steeply 
sloping  rock. 

If  the  man  had  not  sprung  forward  and  caught  her, 
she  would  probably  have  rolled  over  the  narrow  ledge 
on  which  he  stood,  and  gone  bounding  down,  down 
the  mountain  side,  to  her  death.  But  he  did  catch  her, 
and  broke  the  fall,  so  that  she  landed  lightly  beside 
him,  and  within  an  ace  of  being  on  her  knees. 

After  all,  it  had  been  a  narrow  escape;  but  the 
man's  arms  were  so  strong,  and  his  eyes  so  brave, 
that  Virginia  scarcely  realized  the  danger  she  had 
passed.  It  seemed  so  inevitable  now,  that  he  must 
have  saved  her,  that  there  was  room  in  her^  thoughts 
for  no  dreadful  might-have-been.  Was  it  not  the  One 
Man  sent  to  her  by  Destiny,  when  if  this  thing  had 
not  been  meant,  since  the  hour  of  her  birth,  it  might 
easily  have  been  some  mere  tourist,  sent  by  Cook  ? 

All  her  life  had  but  led  up  to  this  moment.  Under 
the  soft  hat  of  green  felt  adorned  with  the  beard  of  a 
[50] 


She  lost  her  scant  foothold,  .slipped,  tried  to  hold 
on,  failed,  and  slid  down  the  rock 


A    CHAMOIS    HUNTER 

chamois,  was  the  face  she  had  seen  in  dreams.  A  dark, 
austere  young  face  it  was,  with  more  of  Mars  than 
Apollo  in  its  lines,  yet  to  her  more  desirable  than  all 
the  ideals  of  all  the  sculptors  since  the  world  began. 
He  was  dressed  as  a  chamois  hunter,  and  there  was 
nothing  in  the  well-worn,  almost  shabby  clothes  to 
distinguish  the  wearer  from  the  type  he  chose  to  rep 
resent.  But  as  easily  might  the  eagle  to  whom  in  her 
heart  she  likened  him,  try  to  pass  for  a  barnyard  fowl, 
as  this  man  for  a  peasant,  so  thought  the  Princess. 


[51] 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  EAGLE'S  EYRIE 

SO  she  had  gone  on  her  knees  to  him  after  all  — 
or  almost!  She  was  glad  her  mother  did  not 
know.  And  she  hoped  that  he  did  not  feel  the 
pulsing  of  the  blood  in  her  fingers,  as  he  took  her 
hand  and  lifted  her  to  her  feet.  There  was  shame  in 
this  tempest  that  swept  through  her  veins,  because  he 
did  not  share  it;  for  to  her,  though  this  meeting  was 
an  epoch,  to  him  it  was  no  more  than  a  trivial  incident, 
She  would  have  keyed  his  emotions  to  hers,  if  she 
could,  but  since  she  had  had  years  of  preparation, 
he  a  single  moment,  perhaps  she  might  have  been 
consoled  for  the  disparity,  could  she  have  read  his 
eyes.  They  said,  if  she  had  known:  "Is  the  sky 
raining  goddesses  to-day  ?  " 

Now,  what  were  to  be  her  first  words  to  him  ? 
Dimly  she  felt,  that  if  she  were  to  profit  by  this  won 
derful  chance  to  know  the  man  and  not  the  Emperor 
[52] 


THE    EAGLE'S    EYRIE 

—  this  chance  which  might  be  lost  in  a  few  moments, 
unless  her  wit  befriended  her  —  those  words  should  be 
beyond  the  common.  She  should  be  able  to  marshal 
her  sentences,  as  a  general  marshals  his  battalions, 
with  a  plan  of  campaign  for  each. 

A  spirit  monitor  —  a  match-making  monitor  — 
whispered  these  wise  advices  in  her  ear;  yet  she  was 
powerless  to  profit  by  them.  Like  a  school-girl  about 
to  be  examined  for  a  scholarship,  knowing  that  all  the 
future  might  depend  upon  an  hour  of  the  present, 
the  dire  need  to  be  resourceful,  to  be  brilliant,  left 
her  dumb. 

How  many  times  had  she  not  thought  of  her  first 
conversation  with  Leopold  of  Rhaetia,  planning  the 
first  words,  the  first  looks,  which  must  make  him 
know  that  she  was  different  from  any  other  girl  he 
had  ever  met!  Yet  here  she  stood,  speechless,  epi 
grams  turning  tail  and  racing  away  from  her  like  a 
troop  of  playful  colts  refusing  to  be  caught. 

And  so  it  was  the  Emperor  who  spoke  before  Vir 
ginia's  savoir  faire  came  back. 

"  I  hope  you're  not  hurt  ? "  asked  the  chamois 
hunter,  in  the  patois  dear  to  the  heart  of  Rhaetian 
mountain  folk. 

[53] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

She  had  been  glad  before,  now  she  was  thankful 
that  she  had  spent  many  weeks  and  months  in  loving 
study  of  the  tongue  which  was  Leopold's.  It  was  not 
the  metier  of  a  chamois  hunter  to  speak  English, 
though  the  Emperor  was  said  to  know  the  language 
well,  and  she  rejoiced  in  her  ability  to  answer  the 
chamois  hunter  as  he  would  be  answered,  keeping  up 
the  play. 

"  I  am  hurt  only  in  the  pride  that  comes  before  a 
fall,"  she  replied,  forcing  a  laugh.  "Thank  you  many 
times  for  saving  me." 

"  I  feared  that  I  frightened  you,  and  made  you  lose 
your  footing,"  the  chamois  hunter  answered. 

"  I  think  on  the  contrary,  if  it  hadn't  been  for  you 
I  should  have  lost  my  life,"  said  Virginia.  "There 
should  be  a  sign  put  up  on  that  tempting  plateau, 
'All  except  suicides  beware."3 

"The  necessity  never  occurred  to  us,  my  mates 
and  me,"  returned  the  man  in  the  gray  coat,  passe- 
moiled  with  green.  "  Until  you  came,  gna'  Fraulein, 
no  tourist  that  I  know  of,  has  found  it  tempting." 

Virginia's  eyes  lit  with  a  sudden  spark.  The  spirit 
monitor  —  that  match-making  monitor  —  came  back 
and  dared  her  to  a  frolic,  such  a  frolic,  she  thought, 
[54] 


THE    EAGLE'S    EYRIE 

as  no  girl  on  earth  had  ever  had,  or  would  have,  after 
her.  And  she  could  show  this  grave,  soldier-hero  of 
hers,  something  new  in  life  —  something  quite  new, 
which  it  would  not  harm  him  to  know.  Then,  let 
come  what  would  out  of  this  adventure,  at  worst  she 
should  always  have  an  Olympian  episode  to  remem 
ber. 

"  Until  I  came  ?  "  she  caught  up  his  words,  stand 
ing  carefully  on  the  spot  where  he  had  placed  her. 
"But  I  am  no  tourist;  I  am  an  explorer." 

He  lifted  level,  dark  eyebrows,  smiling  faintly. 
And  when  he  smiled,  half  his  austerity  was  gone. 

So  beautiful  a  girl  as  this  need  not  rise  beyond 
agreeable  commonplaceness  of  mind  and  speech  to 
please  a  man;  indeed,  this  particular  chamois  hunter 
expected  no  more  than  good  looks,  a  good  heart  and 
a  nice  manner,  from  women.  Yet  this  beauty  bade 
fair,  it  seemed,  to  hold  surprises  in  reserve. 

"I  have  brought  down  noble  game  to-day,"  he 
said  to  himself;  and  aloud;  "I  know  the  Schneehorn 
well,  and  love  it  well.  Still  I  can't  see  what  rewards  it 
has  for  the  explorer.  Unless,  gna'  Fraulein,  you  are  a 
climber  or  a  geologist." 

"I'm  neither;  yet  I  think  I  have  seen  something, 

[55] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
a   most    rare    thing,   I've   wanted    all    my  life   to 
see." 

The  young  man's  face  confessed  curiosity.  "In 
deed  ?  A  rare  thing  that  lives  here  on  the  mountain  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  sure  if  it  lives  here.  I  should  like  to  find 
out,"  replied  the  girl. 

"  Might  one  inquire  the  name  of  this  rare  thing  ?  " 
asked  the  chamois  hunter.  "Perhaps,  if  I  knew,  it 
might  turn  out  that  I  could  help  you  in  the  search. 
But  first,  if  you'd  let  me  lead  you  to  the  plateau, 
where  I  think  you  were  going  ?  Here,  your  head 
might  still  grow  a  little  giddy,  and  it's  not  well  to 
keep  you  standing,  gna'  Fraulein,  on  such  a  spot. 
You've  passed  all  the  worst  now.  The  rest  is  easy." 

She  gave  him  her  hand,  pleasing  herself  by  fancy 
ing  the  act  a  kind  of  allegory,  as  she  let  him  lead  her 
to  safe  and  pleasant  places,  on  a  higher,  sunnier  level. 

"  Perhaps  the  rare  thing  grows  here,"  the  chamois 
hunter  went  on,  looking  about  the  green  plateau  with 
a  new  interest. 

"  I  think  not,"  Virginia  answered,  shaking  her  head. 
"  It  would  thrive  better  nearer  the  mountain  top,  in 
a  more  hidden  place  than  this.  It  does  not  love  tour 
ists." 

[56] 


THE    EAGLE'S    EYRIE 

"  Nor  do  I,  in  truth,"  smiled  the  chamois  hunter. 

"You  took  me  for  one." 

"Pardon,  gna'  Fraulein.  Not  the  kind  of  tourist 
we  both  mean." 

"Thank  you." 

"  But  you  have  not  said  if  I  might  help  you  in  your 
search.  This  is  a  wild  region  for  a  young  lady  to  be 
exploring  in,  alone." 

"I  feel  sure,"  responded  the  Princess,  graciously, 
"  that  if  you  really  would,  you  could  help  me  as  well 
as  any  one  in  Rhaetia." 

"You  are  kind  indeed  to  say  so,  though  I  don't 
know  how  I  have  deserved  the  compliment." 

"  Did  it  sound  like  a  compliment  ?  Well,  leave  it  so. 
I  meant,  because  you  are  at  home  in  these  high  alti 
tudes;  and  the  rare  thing  I  speak  of  is  a  plant  that 
grows  in  high  places.  It  is  said  to  be  found  only  in 
Rhaetian  mountains,  though  I  have  never  heard  of 
any  one  who  has  been  able  to  track  it  down." 

"  Is  it  our  pink  Rhaetian  edelweiss  of  which  we  are 
so  proud  ?  Because  if  it  is,  and  you  will  trust  me,  I 
know  exactly  where  to  take  you,  to  find  it.  With  my 
help,  you  could  climb  there  from  here  in  a  few  mo 
ments." 

[57] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
She  shook  her  head  again,  smiling  inscrutably. 
"Thank  you,  it's  not  the  pink  edelweiss.  The  scien 
tific,  the  esoteric  name,  I've  promised  that  I'll  tell  to 
no  one;  but  the  common  people  in  my  native  country, 
who  have  heard  of  it,  would  call  the  plant  edelmann" 
"You  have  already  seen  it  on  the  mountain,  but 
not  growing  ?  " 

"  Some  chamois  hunter,  like  yourself,  had  dropped 
it,  perhaps,  not  knowing  what  its  value  was.  It's  a 
great  deal  to  have  had  one  glimpse  —  worth  run 
ning  into  danger  for." 

"Perhaps,  gna'  Fraulein,  you  don't  realize  to  the 
full  the  danger  you  did  run.  No  chance  was  worth  it, 
believe  me." 

"  You  —  a  chamois  hunter  —  say  that." 
"But  I'm  a  man.  You  are  a  woman;  and  women 
should  keep  to  beaten  paths  and  safety." 

The  Princess  laughed.  "  I  shouldn't  wonder,"  said 
she,  "  if  that's  a  Rhaetian  theory  —  a  Rhaetian  man's 
theory.  I've  heard,  your  Emperor  holds  it." 

"Who  told  you  that,  gna'  Fraulein  ?"  He  gave  her 
a  sharp  glance,  but  her  gray  eyes  looked  innocent  of 
guile,  and  were  therefore  at  their  most  dangerous. 
"  Oh,  many  people  have  told  me.  Cats  may  look  at 
[58] 


THE    EAGLE'S    EYRIE 

kings,  and  the  most  insignificant  persons  may  talk  of 
Emperors.  I've  heard  many  things  of  yours." 

"Good  things  or  bad?" 

"  No  doubt  such  things  as  he  truly  deserves.  Now 
can  you  guess  which  ?  But  perhaps  I  would  tell  you 
without  your  guessing,  if  I  were  not  so  very,  very 
hungry."  She  glanced  at  the  pocket  of  his  coat,  from 
which  protruded  a  generous  hunch  of  black  bread 
and  ham  —  thrust  in  probably,  at  the  instant  when 
she  had  called  for  help.  "  I  can't  help  seeing  that  you 
have  your  luncheon  with  you.  Do  you  want  it  all," 
(she  carefully  ignored  the  contents  of  her  rucksack, 
which  she  could  not  well  have  forgotten)  "or  — 
would  you  share  it  ? " 

The  chamois  hunter  looked  surprised,  though  not 
displeased.  But  then,  this  was  his  first  experience  of  a 
feminine  explorer,  and  he  quickly  rose  to  the  occasion. 

"There  is  more,  much  more  bread  and  bacon 
where  this  came  from,"  he  replied.  "Will  you  be 
graciously  pleased  to  accept  something  of  our  best  ?  " 

"If  you  please,  then  I  too  shall  be  pleased,"  she 
said.  Guiltily,  she  remembered  Miss  Portman.  But 
the  dear  Letitia  could  not  be  considered  now.  If  she 
were  alarmed,  she  should  be  well  consoled  later. 
[59] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

"  I  and  some  friends  of  mine  have  a  —  a  sort  of 
hut  round  the  corner  from  this  plateau,  and  a  short 
distance  on,"  announced  the  chamois  hunter,  with  a 
gesture  that  gave  the  direction.  "No  woman  has  ever 
been  our  guest,  but  I  invite  you  to  visit  it  and  lunch 
there.  Or,  if  you  prefer,  remain  here  and  in  a  few 
minutes  I  will  bring  such  food  as  we  can  offer.  At 
best  it's  not  much  to  boast  of.  We  chamois  hunters 
are  poor  men,  living  roughly." 

The  Princess  smiled,  imprisoning  each  new  thought 
of  mischief  which  flew  into  her  mind,  like  a  trapped 
bird.  "  I've  heard  you're  rich  in  hospitality,"  she  said. 
"  I'll  go  with  you  to  your  hut,  for  it  will  be  a  chance  to 
prove  the  saying." 

The  eyes  of  the  hunter  —  dark,  brilliant  and  keen 
as  the  eagle's  to  which  she  compared  him  —  pierced 
hers.  "  You  have  no  fear  ? "  he  asked.  "  You  are  a 
young  girl,  alone,  save  for  me,  in  a  desolate  place. 
For  all  you  know,  my  mates  and  I  may  be  a  band  of 
brigands." 

"Baedeker  doesn't  mention  the  existence  of  brig 
ands  in  these  days,  among  the  Rhaetian  Alps,"  re 
plied  Virginia,  with  quaint  dryness.  "I've  always 
found  him  trustworthy.  Besides,  I've  great  faith  in 
[60] 


THE    EAGLE'S    EYRIE 

the  chivalry  of  Rhaetian  men ;  and  if  you  knew  how 
hungry  I  am,  you  wouldn't  keep  me  waiting  for  talk 
of  brigands.  Bread  and  butter  are  far  more  to  the 
point." 

"  Even  search  for  the  rare  Edelmann  may  wait  ?  " 

"Yes.  The  Edelmann  may  wait  —  on  me."  The 
last  two  words  she  dared  but  to  whisper. 

"You  must  pardon  my  going  first,"  said  the  man 
with  the  bare  brown  knees.  "  The  way  is  too  narrow 
for  politeness." 

"Yet  I  wish  that  the  peasants  at  home  had  such 
courteous  manners  as  yours,"  Virginia  patronized 
him,  prettily.  "  You  Rhaetians  need  not  go  to  court, 
I  see,  for  lessons  in  behavior." 

"The  mountains  teach  us  something,  maybe." 

"Something  of  their  greatness,  which  we  should 
all  do  well  to  learn.  But  have  you  never  lived  in  a 
town  ?  " 

"  A  man  of  my  sort  exists  in  a  town.  He  lives  in  the 
mountains."  With  this  diplomatic  response,  the  tall 
figure  swung  round  a  corner  formed  by  a  boulder  of 
rock,  and  Virginia  gave  a  little  cry  of  surprise.  The 
"  hut "  of  which  the  chamois  hunter  had  spoken  was 
revealed  by  the  turn,  and  it  was  of  an  unexpected 
[61] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
and    striking   description.    Instead    of   the   humble 
erection  of  stones  and  wood  which  she  had  counted 
on,  the  rocky  side  of  the  mountain  itself  had  been 
coaxed  to  give  her  sons  a  shelter. 

A  doorway,  and  large  square  openings  for  windows, 
had  been  cut  in  the  red-veined,  purplish-brown 
porphyry;  while  a  heavy  slab  of  oak,  and  wooden 
frames  filled  full  of  glittering  bottle-glass,  protected 
such  rooms  as  might  have  been  hollowed  out  within, 
from  storm  or  cold. 

Even  had  Virginia  been  ignorant  of  her  host's 
identity,  she  would  have  been  wise  enough  to  guess 
that  here  was  no  Sennhiitte,  or  ordinary  abode  of 
common  peasants,  who  hunt  the  chamois  for  a  pre 
carious  livelihood.  The  work  of  hewing  out  in  the 
solid  rock  a  habitation  such  as  this  must  have  cost 
more  than  most  Rhaetian  chamois  hunters  would 
save  in  many  a  year.  But  her  wisdom  also  counseled 
her  to  express  no  further  surprise  after  her  first  excla 
mation  . 

"My  mates  are  away  for  the  time,  though  they 
may  come  back  by  and  by,"  the  man  explained,  hold 
ing  the  heavy  oaken  door  that  she  might  pass  into  the 
room  within;  and  though  she  was  not  invited  to 
[62] 


THE    EAGLE'S    EYRIE 

further  exploration,  she  was  able  to  see  by  the  several 
doorways  cut  in  the  rock  walls,  that  this  was  not  the 
sole  accommodation  the  strange  house  could  boast. 

On  the  rock  floor,  rugs  of  deer  and  chamois  skin 
were  spread;  in  a  rack  of  oak,  ornamented  with 
splendid  antlers  and  studded  with  the  sharp,  pointed 
horns  of  the  chamois,  were  suspended  guns  of  modern 
make,  and  brightly  polished,  formidable  hunting 
knives.  The  table  in  the  center  of  the  room  had  been 
carved  with  admirable  skill;  and  the  half-dozen  chairs 
were  oddly  fashioned  of  stags'  antlers,  shaped  to  hold 
fur-cushioned,  wooden  seats.  A  carved  dresser  of 
black  oak  held  a  store  of  the  coarse  blue,  red  and 
green  china  made  by  peasants  in  the  valley  below, 
through  which  Virginia  had  driven  yesterday;  and 
these  bright  colored  dishes  were  eked  out  with  platters 
and  great  tankards  of  old  pewter,  while  in  the  deep 
fireplace  a  gipsy  kettle  swung  over  a  bed  of  fragrant 
pinewood  embers. 

"  This  is  a  delightful  place  —  fit  for  a  king,  or  even 
for  an  Emperor,"  said  Virginia,  when  the  bare-kneed 
chamois  hunter  had  offered  her  a  chair  near  the  fire, 
and  crossed  the  room  to  open  the  closed  cupboard 
under  the  dresser  shelves. 

[63] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

He  was  stooping  as  she  spoke,  but  at  her  last  words 
looked  round  over  his  shoulder. 

"  We  mountain  men  aren't  afraid  of  a  little  work  — 
when  it's  for  our  own  comfort,"  he  replied.  "And 
most  of  the  things  you  see  here  are  home-made,  dur 
ing  the  long  winters." 

"Then  you  are  all  very  clever  indeed.  But  this 
place  is  interesting;  tell  me,  has  the  Emperor  ever 
been  your  guest  here  ?  I've  read  —  let  me  see,  could 
it  have  been  in  a  guide-book  or  in  some  paper  ?  - 
that  he  comes  occasionally  to  this  northern  range  of 
mountains." 

"  Oh  yes,  the  Emperor  has  been  at  our  hut  several 
times.  He's  good  enough  to  approve  it."  Her  host 
answered  calmly,  laying  a  loaf  of  black  bread,  a  fine 
seeded  cheese,  and  a  knuckle  of  ham  on  the  table. 
He  then  glanced  at  his  guest,  expecting  her  to  come 
forward;  but  she  sat  still  on  her  throne  of  antlers,  her 
small  feet  in  their  sensible  mountain  boots,  daintily 
crossed  under  the  short  tweed  skirt. 

"I    hear    he    also    is   a  good    chamois    hunter," 
she     carelessly     went     on.     "But     that,    perhaps, 
is    only    the    flattery    which    makes    the    atmos 
phere   of    Royalty.    No    doubt   you,    for   instance, 
[64] 


THE    EAGLE'S    EYRIE 

could    really    give    him    many   points    in    chamois 
hunting  ?  " 

The  young  man  smiled.  "  The  Emperor's  not  a  bad 
shot." 

"For  an  amateur.  But  you're  a  professional.  I 
wager  now,  that  you  wouldn't  for  the  world  change 
places  with  the  Emperor  ?  " 

How  the  chamois  hunter  laughed  at  this,  and 
showed  his  white  teeth!  There  were  those,  in  the 
towns  he  scorned,  who  would  have  been  astonished 
at  his  light-hearted  mirth. 

"  Change  places  with  the  Emperor !  Not  —  unless  I 
were  obliged,  gna'  Fraulein.  Not  now,  at  all  events," 
with  a  complimentary  bow  and  glance. 

"Thank  you.  You're  quite  a  courtier.  And  that 
reminds  me  of  another  thing  they  say  of  him  in  my 
country.  The  story  is,  that  he  dislikes  the  society  of 
women.  But  perhaps  it  is  that  he  doesn't  understand 
them." 

"It  is  possible,  lady.  But  I  never  heard  that  they 
were  so  difficult  of  comprehension." 

"Ah,  that  shows  how  little  you  chamois  hunters 
have  had  time  to  learn.  Why,  we  can't  even  under 
stand  ourselves,  or  know  what  we're  most  likely  to  do 
[65] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
next.  And  yet  —  a  very  odd  thing  —  we  have  no 
difficulty  in  reading  one  another,  and  knowing  all 
each  other's  weaknesses." 

"  That  would  seem  to  say  that  a  man  should  get  a 
woman  to  choose  his  wife  for  him." 

"  I'm  not  so  sure  it  would  be  wise.  Yet  your  Em 
peror,  we  hear,  will  let  the  Chancellor  choose  his." 

"  Ah !  were  you  told  this  also  in  your  country  ? " 

"  Yes.  For  the  gossip  is  that  she's  an  English  Prin 
cess.  Now,  what's  the  good  of  being  a  powerful  Em 
peror,  if  he  can't  even  pick  out  a  wife  to  please  his 
own  taste  ?  " 

"I  know  nothing  about  such  high  matters,  gna' 
Fraulein.  But  I  fancied  that  Royal  folk  took  wives  to 
please  their  people  rather  than  themselves.  It's  their 
duty  to  marry,  you  know.  And  if  the  lady  be  of  Royal 
blood,  virtuous,  of  the  right  religion,  not  too  sharp- 
tempered,  and  pleasant  to  look  at,  why  —  those  are 
the  principal  things  to  consider,  I  should  suppose." 

"  So  should  I  not  suppose,  if  I  were  a  man,  and  — 
Emperor.  I  should  want  the  pleasure  of  falling 
in  love." 

"Safer  not,  gna'  Fraulein.  He  might  fall  in  love 
with  the  wrong  woman."  And  the  chamois  hunter 
[66] 


THE    EAGLE'S    EYRIE 

looked  with  half  shamed  intentness  into  his  guest's 
sweet  eyes. 

She  blushed  under  his  gaze,  and  was  so  conscious 
of  the  hot  color,  that  she  retorted  at  random.  "  I  doubt 
if  he  could  fall  in  love.  A  man  who  would  let  his  Chan 
cellor  choose  for  him !  He  can  have  no  warm  blood  in 
his  veins." 

"  There  I  think  you  wrong  him,  lady,"  the  answer 
came  quickly.  "  The  Emperor  is  —  a  man.  But  it  may 
be  he  has  found  other  interests  in  his  life  more  impor 
tant  than  woman." 

"  Bringing  down  chamois,  for  instance.  You  would 
sympathize  there." 

"  Chamois  give  good  sport.  They're  hard  to  find. 
Harder  still  to  hit  when  you  have  found  them." 

"  So  are  the  best  types  of  women.  Those  who,  like 
the  chamois  (and  the  plant  I  spoke  of)  live  only  in  high 
places.  Oh,  for  the  sake  of  my  sex,  I  do  hope  that 
some  day  your  Emperor  will  change  his  mind  —  that 
a  woman  will  make  him  change  it." 

"  Perhaps  a  woman  has  —  already." 

Virginia  grew  pale.  Was  she  too  late  ?  Or  was  this 
a  concealed  compliment  which  the  chamois  hunter 
did  not  guess  she  had  the  clue  to  find  ?  She  could  not 
[67] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
answer.  The  silence  between  the  two  became  electri 
cal,  and  the  young  man  broke  it,  at  last,  with  some 
slight  signs  of  confusion. 

"It's  a  pity,"  said  he,  "that  our  Emperor  can't 
hear  you.  He  might  be  converted  to  your  views." 

"  Or  he  might  clap  me  into  prison  for  Lese  Majeste" 

"  He  wouldn't  do  that,  gna'  Fraulein  —  if  he's  any 
thing  like  me." 

"  Anything  like  you  ?  Why,  now  you  put  me  in 
mind  of  it,  he's  not  unlike  you  —  in  appearance,  I 
mean,  judging  by  his  portraits." 

"  You  have  seen  his  portraits  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I've  seen  some.  I  really  think  you  must  be  a 
little  like  him,  only  browner  and  taller,  perhaps.  Yet 
I'm  glad  that  you're  a  chamois  hunter  and  not  an 
Emperor  —  almost  as  glad  as  you  can  be." 

"Will  you  tell  me  why,  lady  ?" 

"Oh,  for  one  reason,  because  I  couldn't 
possibly  ask  him,  if  he  were  here  in  your  place, 
what  I'm  going  to  ask  of  you.  You've  very  kindly 
laid  the  bread  and  ham  ready,  but  you  forgot  to  cut 
them." 

"A  thousand  pardons.  Our  talk  has  set  my  wits 
wool-gathering.  My  mind  should  have  been  on  my 
[68] 


THE    EAGLE'S    EYRIE 

manners,  instead  of  on  such  far  off  things  as  Em 
perors  and  their  love  affairs." 

He  began  hewing  at  the  big  loaf  as  if  it  were 
an  enemy  to  be  conquered.  And  there  were  few 
in  Rhaetia  who  had  ever  seen  those  dark  eyes  so 
bright. 

"I  like  ham  and  bread  cut  thin,  please,"  said  the 
Princess.  "There  —  that's  better.  I'll  sit  here  if  you'll 
bring  the  things  to  me,  for  I  find  that  I'm  tired;  and 
you  are  very  kind." 

"  A  draught  of  our  Rhaetian  beer  will  do  you  more 
good  than  anything,"  suggested  the  hunter,  taking 
up  the  plate  of  bread  and  ham  he  had  tried  hard  to 
cut  according  to  her  taste,  placing  it  in  her  lap  and 
going  back  to  draw  a  tankard  of  foaming  amber 
liquid  from  a  quaint  hogshead  in  a  corner. 

But  Virginia  waved  the  froth-crowned  pewter 
away  with  a  smile  and  a  pretty  gesture.  "My  head 
has  already  proved  not  strong  enough  for  your  moun 
tains.  I'm  sure  it  isn't  strong  enough  for  your  beer. 
Have  you  some  nice  cold  water  ?  " 

The  young  man  laughed  and  shrugged  his  shoul 
ders.  "  Our  water  here  is  fit  only  for  the  outside  of  the 
body,"  he  explained.  "To  us,  that's  no  great  depriva- 
[69] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
tion,  as  we're  all  true  Rhaetians  for  our  beer.  But 
now,  on  your  account,  I'm  sorry." 

"  Perhaps  you  have  some  milk  ? "  suggested  Vir 
ginia.  "I  love  milk.  And  I  could  scarcely  count  the 
cows,  they  were  so  many,  as  I  came  up  the  mountain 
from  Alleheiligen." 

"  It's  true  there  are  plenty  of  cows  about,"  replied 
her  host,  "  and  I  could  easily  catch  one.  But  if  I  fetch 
the  beast  here,  can  you  milk  it  ?  " 

"Dear  me,  no;  surely  you,  a  great  strong  man, 
would  never  stand  by  and  let  a  weak  girl  do  that  ? 
Oh,  I  almost  wish  I  hadn't  thought  of  the  milk,  if  I'm 
not  to  have  it.  I  long  for  it  so  much." 

"You  shall  have  the  milk,  lady,"  returned  the 
chamois  hunter.  "I  —  " 

"  How  good  you  are ! "  exclaimed  the  Princess.  "  It 
will  be  more  than  nice  of  you.  But  —  I  don't  want 
you  to  think  that  I'm  giving  you  all  this  trouble  for 
nothing.  Here's  something  just  to  show  that  I  appre 
ciate  it;  and  —  to  remember  me  by." 

She  would  not  look  up,  though  she  longed  to  see 

what  expression  the  dark  face  wore,  but  kept  her 

eyes  upon  her  hand,  from  which  she  slowly  withdrew 

a  ring.  It  fitted  tightly,  for  she  had  had  it  made  years 

[70] 


THE    EAGLE'S    EYRIE 

ago,  before  her  slender  fingers  had  finished  growing. 
When  at  last  she  had  pulled  off  the  jeweled  circlet  of 
gold,  she  held  it  up,  temptingly. 

"  What  I  have  done,  and  anything  I  may  yet  do,  is 
a  pleasure,"  said  the  hunter.  "  But  after  all  you  have 
learned  little  of  Rhaetia,  if  you  think  that  we  moun 
tain  men  ever  take  payment  from  those  to  whom 
we've  been  able  to  show  hospitality." 

"Ah,  but  I'm  not  talking  of  payment,"  pleaded 
the  Princess.  "  I  wish  only  to  be  sure  that  you  mayn't 
forget  the  first  woman  who,  you  tell  me,  has  ever 
entered  this  door." 

The  young  man  looked  at  the  door,  not  at  the  girl. 
"  It  is  impossible  that  I  should  forget,"  said  he,  almost 
stiffly. 

"  Still,  it  will  hurt  me  if  you  refuse  my  ring/'  went 
on  Virginia.  "  Please  at  least  come  and  see  what  it's 
like." 

He  obeyed,  and  as  she  still  held  up  the  ring,  he 
took  it  from  her  that  he  might  examine  it  more 
closely. 

"  The  crest  of  Rhaetia ! "  he  exclaimed,  as  his  eyes 
fell  upon  a  shield  of  black  and  green  enamel,  set  with 
small,  but  exceedingly  brilliant  white  diamonds. "  How 
[71] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
curious.  I've  been  wondering  that  you  should  speak 
our  language  so  well  —  " 

"It's  not  curious  at  all,  really,  but  very  simple," 
said  Virginia.  "  Now  "  —  with  a  faint  tremor  in  her 
voice — "  press  the  spring  on  the  left  side  of  the  shield, 
and  when  you've  seen  what's  underneath,  I  think 
you'll  feel  that  you  can't  loyally  refuse  to  accept  my 
little  offering." 

The  bronze  forefinger  found  a  pin's  point  protub 
erance  of  gold,  and  pressing  sharply,  the  shield  flew 
up  to  reveal  a  tiny  but  exquisitely  painted  miniature  of 
Leopold  the  First  of  Rhaetia. 

The  chamois  hunter  stared  at  it,  and  did  not  speak, 
but  the  blood  came  up  to  his  brown  forehead. 

"  You're  surprised  ?  "  asked  Virginia. 

"I  am  surprised  because  I'd  been  led  to  suppose 
that  you  thought  poorly  of  our  Emperor." 

"  Poorly  !  Now  what  could  have  given  you  that  im 
pression  ?  " 

"  Why,  you  —  made  fun  of  his  opinion  of  women." 

"Who  am  I,  pray,  to  'make  fun'  of  an  Emperor's 
opinion,  even  in  a  matter  he  would  consider  so  unim 
portant  ?  On  the  contrary,  I  confess  that  I,  like  most 
other  girls  I  know,  am  deeply  interested  in  your  great 
[72] 


THE    EAGLE'S    EYRIE 

Leopold,  if  only  because  I  —  we  —  would  be  charit 
ably  minded  and  teach  him  better.  As  for  the  ring, 
they  sell  things  more  or  less  of  this  sort,  in  several  of 
the  Rhaetian  cities  I've  passed  through  on  my  way 
here.  Didn't  you  know  that  ?  " 

"No,  lady,  I  have  never  seen  one  like  it." 
"  And  as  for  my  knowledge  of  Rhaetian,  I've  always 
been  interested  in  the  study  of  languages.  Languages 
are  fascinating  to  conquer;  and  then,  the  literature 
of  your  country  is  so  splendid,  one  must  be  able  to 
lead  it  at  first  hand.  Now,  you'll  have  to  say  'yes'  to 
the  ring,  won't  you,  and  keep  it  for  your  Emperor's 
sake,  if  not  for  mine  ?  " 

"  May  I  not  keep  it  for  yours  as  well  ?  " 
"  Yes,  if  you  please.  And  —  about  the  milk  ?  " 
The  chamois  hunter  caught  up  a  gaudy  jug,  and 
without  further  words,  went  out.  When  he  had  gone, 
the  Princess  rose  and,  taking  the  knife  he  had  used  to 
cut  the  bread  and  ham,  she  kissed  the  handle  on  the 
place  where  his  fingers  had  grasped  it.  "  You're  a  very 
silly  girl,  Virginia,  my  dear,"  she  said.  "But  oh,  how 
you  do  love  him.    How  he  is  worth  loving,  and  — 
what  a  glorious  hour  you're  having ! " 

For  ten  minutes  she  sat  alone,  perhaps  more;  then 
[73] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
the  door  was  flung  open  and  her  host  flung  himself  in, 
no  longer  with  the  gay  air  which  had  sat  like  a  cloak 
upon  him,  but  hot  and  sulky,  the  jug  in  his  hand  as 
empty  as  when  he  had  gone  out. 

"I  have  failed,"  he  said  gloomily.  "I  have  failed, 
though  I  promised  you  the  milk." 

"  Couldn't  you  find  a  cow  ?  "  asked  Virginia. 

"  Qh  yes,  I  found  one,  more  than  one,  and  caught 
them  too.  I  even  forced  them  to  stand  still,  and 
grasped  them  by  their  udders,  but  not  a  drop  of  milk 
would  come  down.  Abominable  brutes!  I  would 
gladly  have  killed  them,  but  that  would  have  given 
you  no  milk." 

For  her  life,  the  Princess  could  not  help  laughing, 
his  air  was  so  desperate.  If  only  those  cows  could 
have  known  who  he  was,  and  appreciated  the 
honor ! 

"  Pray,  pray  don't  mind,"  she  begged.  "You  have 
done  more  than  most  men  could  have  done.  After  all, 
I'll  have  a  glass  of  Rhaetian  beer  with  you,  to  drink 
your  health  and  that  of  your  Emperor.  I  wonder  by 
the  by  if  he,  who  prides  himself  on  doing  all  things 
well,  can  milk  a  cow  ?  " 

"If  not,  he  should  learn,"  said  the  chamois  hunter, 
[74] 


THE    EAGLE'S    EYRIE 

viciously.  "  There's  no  knowing,  it  seems,  when  one 
may  need  the  strangest  accomplishments,  and  be 
humiliated  for  lack  of  them." 

"  No,  not  humiliated,"  Virginia  assured  him.  "  It's 
always  instructive  to  find  out  one's  limitations.  And 
you  have  been  most  good  to  me.  See,  while  you  were 
gone,  I  ate  the  slice  of  bread  and  ham  you  cut,  and 
never  did  a  meal  taste  better.  Now,  you  must  have 
many  things  to  do,  which  I've  made  you  leave  un 
done.  I've  trespassed  on  you  too  long." 

"Indeed,  lady,  it  seems  scarcely  a  moment  since 
you  came,  and  I  have  no  work  to  do,"  the  chamois 
hunter  insisted. 

"But  I've  a  friend  waiting  for  me,  on  the  moun 
tain,"  the  Princess  confessed.  "  Luckily,  she  had  her 
lunch  and  will  have  eaten  it,  and  her  guide-book 
must  have  kept  her  happy  for  a  while;  but  by  this 
time  I'm  afraid  she's  anxious,  and  would  be  coming 
in  search  of  me,  if  she  dared  to  stir.  I  must  go.  Will  you 
tell  me  by  what  name  I  shall  remember  my  —  rescuer, 
when  I  recall  this  day  ?  " 

"They  named  me  —  for  the  Emperor." 

"They  were  wise.  It  suits  you.  Then  I  shall  think 
of  you  as  Leopold.  Leopold  —  what  ?  But  no,  don't 
[75] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
tell  me  the  other    name.  It  can't  be  good  enough  to 
match  the  first ;  for  do  you  know,  I  admire  the  name  of 
Leopold  more  than  any  other  I've  ever  heard  ?  So, 
Leopold,  will  you  shake  hands  for  good-by  ?  " 

The  strong  hand  came  out  eagerly,  and  pressed 
hers.  "Thank  you,  gna'  Fraulein;  but  it's  not  good- 
by  yet.  You  must  let  me  help  you  back  by  the  way 
you  came,  and  down  the  mountain." 

"  Will  you  really  ?  I  dared  not  ask  as  much,  for  fear, 
in  spite  of  your  kind  hospitality,  you  were  —  like 
your  noble  namesake  —  a  hater  of  women." 

"That's  too  hard  a  word,  even  for  an  Emperor, 
lady.  While  as  for  me,  if  I  ever  said  to  myself,  'no 
woman  can  be  of  much  good  to  a  man  as  a  real  com 
panion,'  I'm  ready  to  unsay  it." 

"  I'm  glad !  Then  you  shall  come  with  me,  and  help 
me;  and  you  shall  help  my  friend,  who  is  so  good  and 
so  strong-minded  that  perhaps  she  may  make  you 
think  even  better  of  our  sex.  If  you  will,  you  shall  be 
our  guide  down  to  Alleheiligen,  where  we've  been 
staying  at  the  inn  since  last  night.  Besides  all  that,  if 
you  wish  to  be  very  good,  you  may  carry  our  cloaks 
and  rucksacks,  which  seem  so  heavy  to  us,  but  will 
be  nothing  for  your  strong  shoulders." 
[76] 


THE    EAGLE'S    EYRIE 

The  face  of  the  chamois  hunter  changed  and 
changed  again  with  such  amused  appreciation  of  her 
demands,  that  Virginia  turned  her  head  away,  lest 
she  should  laugh,  and  thus  let  him  guess  that  she  held 
the  key  to  the  inner  situation. 

His  willingness  to  become  a  cowherd,  and  now  a 
beast  of  burden  for  the  foreign  lady  he  had  seen,  and 
her  friend  whom  he  had  not  seen,  was  indubitably 
genuine.  He  was  pleased  with  the  adventure  —  if 
not  as  pleased  as  his  initiated  companion.  For  the 
next  few  hours  the  hunter  was  free,  it  seemed.  He 
said  that  he  had  been  out  since  early  dawn,  and  had 
had  good  luck.  Later,  he  had  returned  to  the  hut  for  a 
meal  and  a  rest,  while  his  friends  went  down  to  the  vil 
lage  on  business  which  concerned  them  all.  As  they 
had  not  come  back,  they  were  probably  amusing 
themselves,  and  when  he  had  given  the  ladies  all  the 
assistance  in  his  power,  he  would  join  them. 

The  way  down  was  easy  to  Virginia,  with  his  hand 
to  help  her  when  it  was  needed,  and  she  had  never 
been  so  happy  in  her  twenty  years.  But,  after  all,  she 
asked  herself,  as  they  neared  the  place  where  she  had 
left  Miss  Portman,  what  had  she  accomplished  ? 

What  impression  was  she  leaving  ?  Would  this  rad- 

[77] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
iant  morning  of  adventure  do  her  good  or  harm 
with  Leopold  when  Miss  Mowbray  should  meet 
him  later,  in  some  conventional  way,  through 
letters  of  introduction  to  Court  dignitaries  at  Kron- 
burg? 

While  she  wondered,  his  voice  broke  into  her  ques 
tionings. 

"I  hope,  gna'  Fraulein,"  the  chamois  hunter  was 
saying,  almost  shyly  and  as  if  by  an  effort,  "  that  you 
won't  go  away  from  our  country  thinking  that  we 
Rhaetians  are  so  cold  of  heart  and  blood  as  you've 
seemed  to  fancy.  We  men  of  the  mountains  may  be 
different  from  others  you  have  seen,  but  we're  not 
more  cold.  The  torrent  of  our  blood  may  sleep  for  a 
season  under  ice,  but  when  the  spring  comes  —  as 
it  must  —  and  the  ice  melts,  then  the  torrent  gushes 
forth  the  more  hotly  because  it  has  not  spent  its 
strength  before." 

"I  shall  remember  your  words,"  said  the  Princess, 
"  for  —  my  journal  of  Rhaetia.  And  now,  here's  my 
poor  friend.  I  shall  have  to  make  her  a  thousand  ex 
cuses." 

For  her  journal  of  Rhaetia !  For  a  moment  the  man 
looked  wistful,  as  if  it  were  a  pain  to  him  that  he 
[78] 


THE    EAGLE'S    EYRIE 

would  have  no  other  place  in  her  thoughts,  nor  time 
to  win  it,  since  there  sat  a  lady  in  a  tourist's  hat,  and 
eye-glasses,  and  the  episode  was  practically  closed. 
He  looked  too,  as  if  there  was  something  he  would  add 
to  his  last  words  if  he  could;  but  Miss  Portman  saw 
the  two  advancing  figures,  and  shrieked  a  shrill  cry 
of  thanksgiving. 

"Oh,  I  have  been  so  dreadfully  anxious!"  she 
groaned,  "  What  has  kept  you  ?  Have  you  had  an 
accident  ?  Thank  heaven  you're  here.  I  began  to  give 
up  hope  of  ever  seeing  you  again  alive." 

"Perhaps  you  never  would,  if  it  hadn  t  been  for 
the  help  of  this  good  and  brave  new  friend  of  mine," 
said  Virginia,  hurrying  into  explanations.  "I  got  into 
dreadful  difficulties  up  there;  it  was  much  worse  than 
I  thought,  but  Leopold  —  "  (Miss  Portman  started, 
stared  with  her  near-sighted  eyes  at  the  tall,  brown 
man  with  bare  knees;  colored,  gasped,  and  swallowed 
hard  after  a  quick  glance  at  her  Princess.)  "Leopold 
happened  to  be  near,  came  to  my  help  and  saved  me. 
Wasn't  it  providential  ?  Oh,  I  assure  you,  Leopold  is 
a  monarch  —  of  chamois  hunters.  Give  him  your 
cloak  and  rucksack  to  carry  with  mine,  dear  Miss 
Manchester.  He's  kind  enough  to  say  that  he'll  guide 
[79] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
us  all  the  way  down  to  Alleheiligen,  and  I'm  glad  to 
accept  his  service. 

Miss  Portman  —  a  devout  Royalist,  and  firm  be 
liever  in  the  right  of  kings  —  grew  crimson,  her  nose 
especially,  as  it  invariably  did  at  moments  of  strong 
emotion. 

The  Emperor  of  Rhaetia,  here,  caught  and  trapped, 
like  Pegasus  bound  to  the  plow,  and  forced  to  carry 
luggage  as  if  he  were  a  common  porter  —  worst  of 
all,  her  insignificant,  twice  wretched  luggage ! 

She  would  have  protested  if  she  had  dared;  but  she 
did  not  dare,  and  was  obliged  to  see  that  imperial 
form  —  unmistakably  imperial,  it  seemed  to  her, 
though  masquerading  in  humble  guise  —  loaded 
down  with  her  rucksack  and  her  large  golf  cape,  with 
goloshes  in  the  pocket. 

Crushed  under  the  magnitude  of  her  discovery, 
dazzled  by  the  surprising  brilliance  of  the  Princess's 
capture,  stupefied  by  the  fear  of  saying  or  doing  the 
wrong  thing  and  ruining  her  idol's  bizarre  triumph, 
poor  Miss  Portman  staggered  as  Virginia  helped  her 
to  her  feet. 

"Why,  you're  cramped  with  sitting  so  long!" 
cried  the  Princess.  "  Be  careful !  But  Leopold  will 

[80] 


THE    EAGLE'S    EYRIE 

give  you  his  arm.  Leopold  will  take  you  down,  won't 
you,  Leopold  ?  " 

And  the  Imperial  Eagle,  who  had  hoped  for  better 
things,  meekly  allowed  another  link  to  be  added  to  his 
chain. 


[81] 


CHAPTER  V 
LEO  VERSUS  LEOPOLD 

i4  CH,    Himmel!"    exclaimed    Frau  Yorvan; 
/—V     and  "  Ach  Himmel ! "  she  exclaimed  again, 
her  voice  rising  to  a  wail,  with  a  frantic 
uplifting  of  the  hands. 

The  Grand  Duchess  grew  pale,  for  the  apple- 
cheeked  lady  suddenly  exhibited  these  alarming 
signs  of  emotion  while  passing  a  window  of 
the  private  dining-room.  Evidently  some  scene 
of  horror  was  being  enacted  outside ;  and  — 
Virginia  and  Miss  Portman  had  been  away  for 
many  hours. 

It  was  the  time  for  tea  in  England,  for  coffee  in 
Rhaetia;  Frau  Yorvan  had  just  brought  in  coffee  for 
one,  with  heart-shaped,  sugared  cakes,  which  would 
have  appealed  more  poignantly  to  the  Grand  Duch 
ess's  appetite,  if  the  absent  ones  had  been  with  her  to 
share  them.  Naturally,  at  the  good  woman's  outburst, 
[82] 


LEO    VERSUS    LEOPOLD 

her  imagination  instantly  pictured  disaster  to  the  one 
she  loved. 

"  What  —  oh,  what  is  it  you  see  ?  "  she  implored, 
her  heart  leaping,  then  falling.  But  for  once,  the 
courtesy  due  to  an  honored  guest  was  forgotten, 
and  the  distracted  Frau  Yorvan  fled  from  the  room 
without  giving  an  answer. 

Half  paralyzed  with  dread  of  what  she  might  have 
to  see,  the  Grand  Duchess  tottered  to  the  window. 
Was  there  —  yes,  there  was  a  procession,  coming 
down  the  hilly  street  that  led  to  town  from  the  moun 
tain.  Oh,  horror  upon  horror!  They  were  perhaps 
bringing  Virginia  down,  injured  or  dead,  her  beautiful 
face  crushed  out  of  recognition.  Yet  no  —  there  was 
Virginia  herself,  the  central  figure  in  the  procession. 
Thank  Heaven,  it  could  be  nothing  worse  than  an 
accident  to  poor,  dear  Miss  Portman  —  But  there 
was  Miss  Portman  too;  and  a  very  tall,  bronzed 
peasant  man,  loaded  with  cloaks  and  rucksacks, 
headed  the  band,  while  the  girl  and  her  ex-governess 
followed  after. 

Unspeakably  relieved,  yet  still  puzzled  and  vaguely 
alarmed,  the  Grand  Duchess  threw  up  the  window 
overlooking  the  little  village  square.  But  as  she  strove 
[83] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
to  attract  the  truants'  attention  by  waving  her  hand 
and  crying  out    a  welcome  or  a  question,  whichever 
should  come  first,  the  words  were  arrested  on  her  lips. 
What  could  be  the  matter  with  Frau  Yorvan  ? 

The  stout  old  landlady  popped  out  through  the  door 
like  a  Jack  out  of  his  box,  on  a  very  stiff  spring,  flew 
to  the  overloaded  peasant,  and  almost  rudely  elbow 
ing  Miss  Portman  aside,  began  distractedly  bobbing 
up  and  down,  tearing  at  the  bundle  of  rucksacks  and 
cloaks.  Her  inarticulate  cries  ascended  like  incense 
to  the  Grand  Duchess  at  the  open  window,  adding 
much  to  the  lady's  intense  bewilderment. 

"  What  has  that  man  been  doing  ?  "  demanded  the 
Grand  Duchess  in  a  loud,  firm  voice;  but  nobody 
answered,  for  the  very  good  reason  that  nobody  heard. 
The  attention  of  all  those  below  was  entirely  taken 
up  with  their  own  concerns. 

"Pray,  mein  frau,  let  him  carry  our  things  in 
doors,"  Virginia  was  insisting,  while  the  tall  man 
stood  among  the  three  women,  motionless,  but  ap 
parently  a  prey  to  conflicting  emotions.  If  the  Grand 
Duchess  had  not  been  obsessed  with  a  certain  idea, 
which  was  growing  in  her  mind,  she  must  have  seen 
that  his  dark  face  betrayed  a  mingling  of  amusement, 
[84] 


LEO  VERSUS  LEOPOLD 
impatience,  annoyance,  and  boyish  mischief.  He 
looked  like  a  man  who  had  somehow  stumbled  into 
a  false  position  from  which  it  would  be  difficult  to 
escape  with  dignity,  yet  which  he  half  enjoyed. 
Torn  between  a  desire  to  laugh,  and  fly  into  a  rage 
with  the  officious  landlady,  he  frowned  warningly 
at  Frau  Yorvan,  smiled  at  the  Princess,  and  divided 
his  energies  between  quick,  secret  gestures  intended 
for  the  eyes  of  the  Rhaetian  woman,  and  endeavors 
to  unburden  himself  in  his  own  time  and  way,  of  the 
load  he  carried. 

With  each  instant  the  perturbation  of  the  Grand 
Duchess  grew.  Why  did  the  man  not  speak  out  what 
he  had  to  say  ?  Why  did  the  landlady  first  strive  to 
seize  the  things  from  his  back,  then  suddenly  shrink 
as  if  in  fear,  leaving  the  tall  fellow  to  his  own  de 
vices  ?  Ah,  but  that  was  a  terrible  look  he  gave  her 
at  last  —  the  poor,  good  woman !  Perhaps  he  was  a 
brigand !  And  the  Grand  Duchess  remembered  tales 
she  had  read  —  tales  of  fearful  deeds,  even  in  these 
modern  days,  done  in  wild,  mountain  fastnesses, 
and  remote  villages  such  as  Alleheiligen.  Not  in 
Rhaetia,  perhaps;  but  then,  there  was  no  reason  why 
they  should  not  happen  in  Rhaetia,  at  a  place  like  this. 
[85] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

And  if  there  were  not  something  evil,  something  to 
be  dreaded  about  this  big,  dark-browed  fellow,  why 
had  Frau  Yorvan  uttered  that  exclamation  of  frantic 
dismay  at  sight  of  him,  and  rushed  like  a  madwoman 
out  of  the  house  ? 

It  occurred  to  the  Grand  Duchess  that  the  man 
must  be  some  notorious  desperado  of  the  mountains, 
who  had  obtained  her  daughter's  confidence,  or  got 
her  and  Miss  Portman  into  his  power.  But,  she  re 
membered,  fortunately  some  or  all  of  the  mysterious 
gentlemen  stopping  at  the  inn,  had  returned  and  were 
at  this  moment  assembled  in  the  room  adjoining  hers. 
The  Grand  Duchess  resolved  that,  at  the  first  sign 
of  insolent  behavior  or  threatening  on  the  part  of  the 
luggage  carrier,  these  noblemen  should  be  promptly 
summoned  by  her  to  the  rescue  of  her  daughter. 

Her  anxiety  was  even  slightly  allayed  at  this  point 
in  her  reflections,  by  the  thought  (for  she  had  not 
quite  outgrown  an  innate  love  of  romance)  that  the 
Emperor  himself  might  go  to  Virginia's  assistance. 
His  friends  were  in  the  next  room,  having  come  down 
from  the  mountain  about  noon,  and  there  seemed 
little  doubt  that  he  was  among  them.  If  he  had  not 
already  looked  out  of  his  window,  drawn  by  the  land- 
[86] 


LEO    VERSUS    LEOPOLD 

lady's  excited  voice,  the  Grand  Duchess  resolved  that, 
in  the  circumstances,  it  was  her  part  as  a  mother  to 
make  him  look  out.  She  had  promised  to  help  Virginia, 
and  she  would  help  her  by  promoting  a  romantic  first 
encounter. 

In  a  penetrating  voice,  which  could  not  fail  to  reach 
the  ears  of  the  men  next  door,  or  the  actors  in  the 
scene  below,  she  adjured  her  daughter  in  Eng 
lish. 

This  language  was  the  safest  to  employ,  she  decided 
hastily,  because  the  brigand  with  the  rucksacks 
would  not  understand,  while  the  flower  of  Rhaetian 
chivalry  in  the  adjoining  room  were  doubtless  ac 
quainted  with  all  modern  languages. 

"Helen!"  she  screamed,  loyally  remembering  in 
her  excitement,  the  part  she  was  playing,  "Helen, 
where  did  you  come  across  that  ferocious-looking 
ruffian  ?  Can't  you  see  he  intends  to  steal  your  ruck 
sacks,  or  —  or  blackmail  you,  or  something  ?  Is 
there  no  man-servant  about  the  place  whom  the 
landlady  can  call  to  help  her  ?  " 

All  four  of  the  actors  on  the  little  stage  glanced  up, 
aware  for  the  first  time  of  an  audience;  and  had  the 
Grand  Duchess's  eyes  been  younger,  she  might  have 
[87] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
been  still  further  puzzled  by  the  varying  and  vivid 
expressions  of  their  faces.  But  she  saw  only  that  the 
dark-browed  peasant  man,  who  had  glared  so 
haughtily  at  poor  Frau  Yorvan,  was  throwing  off  his 
burden  with  haste  and  roughness. 

"I  do  hope  he  hasn't  already  stolen  anything  of 
value,"  cried  the  Grand  Duchess.  "Better  not  let 
him  go  until  you've  looked  into  your  rucksacks.  Re 
member  that  silver  drinking  cup  you  would  take  with 
you—" 

She  paused,  not  so  much  in  deference  to  Virginia's 
quick  reply,  as  in  amazement  at  Frau  Yorvan's  re 
newed  gesticulations.  Was  it  possible  that  the  woman 
understood  more  English  than  her  guests  supposed, 
and  feared  lest  the  brigand  —  perhaps  equally  well 
instructed  —  might  seek  immediate  revenge  ?  His 
bare  knees  alone  were  evidence  against  his  character 
in  the  eyes  of  the  Grand  Duchess.  They  gave  him  a 
brazen,  abandoned  air;  and  a  young  man  who  culti 
vated  so  long  a  space  between  stockings  and  trousers 
might  be  capable  of  any  crime. 

"  Oh,  Mother,  you're  very  much  mistaken,"  Vir 
ginia  was  protesting.  "  This  man  is  a  great  friend  of 
mine,  and  has  saved  my  life.  You  must  thank  him. 
[88] 


LEO    VERSUS    LEOPOLD 
If  it  were  not  for  him,  I  might  never  have  come  back 
to  you." 

At  last  the  meaning  of  her  words  penetrated  to  the 
intelligence  of  the  Grand  Duchess,  through  an  armor 
of  misapprehension. 

"  He  saved  your  life  ?  "  she  echoed.  "  Oh,  then  you 
have  been  in  danger!  Heaven  be  thanked  for  your 
safety  —  and  also  that  the  man's  not  likely  to  know 
English,  or  I  should  never  forgive  myself  for  what 
I've  said.  Here  is  my  purse,  dearest.  Catch  it  as  I 
throw,  and  give  it  to  him  just  as  it  is.  There  are  at 
least  twenty  pounds  in  it,  and  I  only  wish  I  could 
afford  more.  But  what  is  the  matter,  my  child  ?  You 
look  ready  to  faint." 

As  she  began  to  speak,  she  snatched  from  a  desk 
at  which  she  had  been  writing,  a  netted  silver  purse. 
But  while  she  paused,  waiting  for  Virginia  to  hold 
out  her  hands,  the  girl  forbade  the  contemplated 
act  of  generosity  with  an  imploring  gesture. 

"He  will  accept  no  reward  for  what  he  has  done, 
except  our  thanks;  and  those  I  give  him  once  again," 
the  girl  answered.  She  then  turned  to  the  chamois 
hunter,  and  made  him  a  present  of  her  hand,  over 
which  he  bowed  with  the  air  of  a  courtier  rather  than 
[89] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
the  rough  manner  of  a  peasant.  And  the  Grand 
Duchess  still  hoped  that  the  Emperor  might  be  at  the 
window,  as  really  it  was  a  pretty  picture,  and,  it 
seemed  to  her,  presented  a  pleasing  phase  of  Vir 
ginia's  character. 

She  eagerly  awaited  her  daughter's  coming,  and 
having  lingered  at  the  window  to  watch  with  im 
patience  the  rather  ceremonious  leave-taking,  she 
hastened  to  the  door  of  the  improvised  sitting-room 
to  welcome  the  mountaineers,  as  they  returned  to 
tell  their  adventures. 

"  My  darling,  who  do  you  think  was  listening  and 
looking  from  the  window  next  ours  ? "  she  breath 
lessly  inquired,  when  she  had  embraced  her  newly- 
restored  treasure  —  for  the  secret  of  the  adjoining 
room  was  too  good  to  keep  until  questions  had  been 
put.  "Can't  you  guess  ?  I'm  surprised  at  that,  since 
you  were  so  sure  last  night  of  a  certain  person's 
presence  not  far  away.  Why,  who  but  your  Emperor 
himself!" 

The   Princess   laughed   happily,   and   kissed   her 

mother's  pink  cheek.  "Then  he  must  have  an  astral 

body,"  said  she,  "since  one  or  the  other  has  been 

with  me  all  day ;  and  it  was  to  him  —  or  his  Doppel- 

[90] 


LEO    VERSUS    LEOPOLD 
ganger  —  that  you  offered  your  purse  to  make  up 
for  accusing  him  of  stealing ! " 

The  Grand  Duchess  sat  down ;  not  so  much  be 
cause  she  wished  to  assume  a  sitting  position,  as 
because  she  experienced  a  sudden,  uncontrollable 
weakness  of  the  knees.  For  a  moment  she  was  unable 
to  speak,  or  even  to  speculate ;  but  one  vague  thought 
did  trail  dimly  across  her  brain.  "Heavens!  what 
have  I  done  to  him  ?  And  maybe  some  day  he  will  be 
my  son-in-law." 

Meanwhile,  Frau  Yorvan  —  a  strangely  subdued 
Frau  Yorvan  —  had  droopingly  followed  the  chamois 
hunter  into  the  inn. 

"My  dear  old  friend,  you  must  learn  not  to  lose 
that  well-meaning  head  of  yours,"  said  he  in  the  hall. 

"  Oh,  but,  your  Majesty  —  " 

"  Now,  now,  must  I  remind  you  again  that  his  Ma 
jesty  is  at  Kronburg,  or  Petersbriick,  or  some  other 
of  his  residences,  when  I  am  at  Alleheiligen  ?  This 
time  I  believe  he's  at  the  Baths  of  Melina.  If  you 
can't  remember  these  things,  I  fear  I  shall  be  driven 
away  from  here,  to  look  for  chamois  elsewhere  than 
on  the  Schneehorn." 

"Indeed,  I  will  not  be  so  stupid  again,  your  —  I 
[91] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
mean,  I  will  do  my  very  best  not  to  forget.  But  never 
before  have  I  been  so  tried.  To  see  your  high-born, 
imperial  shoulders  loaded  down  as  if  —  as  if  you  had 
been  a  common  Gepacktrager  for  tourists,  instead 
of—" 

"A  chamois  hunter.  Don't  distress  yourself,  good 
friend.  I've  had  a  day  of  excellent  sport." 

"  For  that  I  am  thankful.  But  to  see  your  —  to  see 
you  coming  back  in  such  an  unsuitable  way,  has  given 
me  a  weakness  of  the  heart.  How  can  I  order  myself 
civilly  to  those  ladies,  who  have  —  " 

"  Who  have  given  peasant  Leopold  some  hours  of 
amusement.  Be  more  civil  than  ever,  for  my  sake. 
And  by  the  way,  can  you  tell  me  the  names  of  the 
ladies  ?  That  one  of  them  —  a  companion,  I  judge  — 
is  a  Miss  Manchester,  I  have  heard  in  conversation ; 
but  the  others— " 

"  They  are  mother  and  daughter  —  sir.  The  elder, 
who  in  her  ignorance,  cried  out  such  treasonable 
abominations  from  the  window  (as  I  could  tell  even 
with  the  little  English  I  have  picked  up)  is  Lady 
Mowbray.  I  have  seen  the  name  written  down;  and  I 
know  how  to  speak  it  because  I  have  heard  it  pro 
nounced  by  the  companion,  the  Mees  Manchester. 
[92] 


LEO  VERSUS  LEOPOLD 
The  younger  —  the  beautiful  one  —  is  also  a  Mees  — 
and  the  mother  calls  her  Helene.  They  talk  together 
in  English,  also  in  French,  and  though  I  have  so  few 
words  of  either  language,  I  could  tell  that  London 
was  mentioned  between  them  more  than  once,  while  I 
waited  on  the  table.  Besides,  it  is  painted  in  black 
letters  on  their  traveling  boxes." 

"  You  did  not  expect  their  arrival  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  sir.  Had  they  written  beforehand,  at  this 
season,  when  I  generally  expect  to  be  honored  by 
your  presence,  I  should  have  answered  that  the  house 
was  full  —  or  closed  —  or  any  excuse  which  occurred 
to  me,  to  keep  strangers  away.  But  none  have  ever 
before  arrived  so  late  in  the  year,  and  I  was  taken 
all  unawares  when  my  son  Alois  drove  them  up  last 
night.  He  did  not  know  you  had  arrived,  as  the  papers 
spoke  so  positively  of  your  visit  to  the  Baths;  and  I 
could  not  send  travelers  away;  you  have  bidden  me 
not  to  do  so,  once  they  are  in  the  house.  But  these 
ladies  are  here  but  for  a  day  or  two  more,  on  their 
way  to  Kronburg  for  a  visit;  and  I  thought  — 

"  You  did  quite  right,  Frau  Yorvan.  Has  my  mes 
senger  come  up  with  letters  ?  " 

"  Yes,  your  —  yes,  sir.  Just  now  also  a  telegram 
[93] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
was  brought  by  another  messenger,  who  came  and 
left  in  a  great  hurry." 

The  chamois  hunter  shrugged  his  shoulders,  and 
sighed  an  impatient  sigh.  "It's  too  much  to  expect 
that  I  should  be  left  in  peace  for  a  single  day,  even 
here,"  he  muttered,  as  he  went  toward  the  stairs. 

To  reach  Frau  Yorvan's  best  sitting-room  (selfishly 
occupied,  according  to  one  opinion,  by  four  men 
absent  all  day  on  a  mountain),  he  was  obliged  to  pass 
by  a  door  through  which  issued  unusual  sounds.  So 
unusual  were  they,  that  the  Emperor  paused. 

Some  one  was  striking  the  preliminary  chords  of  a 
volkslied  on  his  favorite  instrument,  a  Rhaetian  vari 
ation  of  the  zither.  As  he  lingered,  listening,  a  voice 
began  to  sing  —  ah,  but  a  voice ! 

Softly  seductive  it  was  as  the  cooing  of  a  dove  in 
the  spring,  to  its  mate;  pure  as  the  purling  of  a  brook 
among  meadow  flowers;  rich  as  the  deep  notes  of  a 
nightingale  in  his  passion  for  the  moon.  And  for 
the  song,  it  was  the  heart-breaking  cry  of  a  young 
Rhaetian  peasant  who,  lying  near  death  in  a  strange 
land,  longs  for  one  ray  of  sunrise  light  on  the  bare 
mountain  tops  of  the  homeland,  more  earnestly  than 
for  his  first  sight  of  an  unknown  Heaven. 
[94] 


LEO    VERSUS    LEOPOLD 

The  man  outside  the  door  did  not  move  until  the 
voice  was  still.  He  knew  well,  though  he  could  not  see, 
who  the  singer  had  been.  It  was  impossible  for  the 
plump  lady  at  the  window,  or  the  thin  lady  with  the 
glasses,  to  own  a  voice  like  that.  It  was  the  girl's.  She 
only,  of  the  trio,  could  so  exhale  her  soul  in  the  very 
perfume  of  sound.  For  to  his  fancy,  it  was  like  hearing 
the  fragrance  of  a  rose  breathed  aloud.  "  I  have  heard 
an  angel,"  he  said  to  himself.  But  in  reality  he  had 
heard  Princess  Virginia  of  Baumenburg-Drippe, 
showing  off  her  very  prettiest  accomplishment,  in 
the  childish  hope  that  the  man  she  loved  might  hear. 

Leopold  of  Rhaetia  had  heard  many  golden  voices 
—  golden  in  more  senses  of  the  word  than  one  —  but 
never  before,  it  seemed  to  him,  a  voice  which  so 
stirred  his  spirit  with  pain  that  was  bitter-sweet, 
pleasure  as  blinding  as  pain,  and  a  vague  yearning 
for  something  beautiful  which  he  had  never  known. 

If  he  had  been  asked  what  that  something  was, 
he  could  not,  if  he  would,  have  told;  for  a  man  cannot 
explain  that  part  of  himself  which  he  has  never  even 
tried  to  understand. 

Before  he  had  moved  many  paces  from  the  door, 
the  lovely  voice,  no  longer  plaintive,  but  swelling  to 
[95] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
brilliant  triumph,  broke   into  the  national  anthem  of 
Rhaetia  —  warlike,  inspiring  as  the  Marseillaise,  but 
wilder,  calling  her  sons  to  face  death  singing,  in  the 
defense. 

"  She's  an  English  girl,  yet  she  sings  our  Rhaetian 
music  as  no  Rhaetian  woman  I  have  ever  heard,  can 
sing  it,"  he  told  himself,  slowly  passing  on  to  his  own 
door.  "  She  is  a  new  type  to  me.  I  don't  think  there 
can  be  many  like  her.  A  pity  that  she  is  not  a  Princess, 
or  else  —  that  Leopold  the  Emperor  and  Leo  the 
chamois  hunter  are  not  two  men.  Still,  the  chamois 
hunter  of  Rhaetia  would  be  no  match  for  Miss  Mow- 
bray  of  London,  so  the  weights  would  balance  in  the 
scales  as  unevenly  as  now." 

He  gave  a  sigh,  and  a  smile  that  lifted  his  eyebrows. 
Then  he  opened  the  door  of  his  sitting-room,  to  forget 
among  certain  documents  which  urged  the  impor 
tance  of  an  immediate  return  to  duty,  the  difference 
between  Leopold  and  Leo,  the  difference  between 
women  and  a  Woman. 

"  Good-by  to  our  mountains,  to-morrow  morning," 
he  said  to  his  three  chosen  companions.  "Hey  for 
work  and  Kronburg." 

She  was  going  to  Kronburg  in  a  few  days,  accord- 
[96] 


LEO    VERSUS    LEOPOLD 
ing  to  Frau  Yorvan.  But  Kronburg  was  not  Alleheili- 
gen;  and  Leopold,   the  Emperor,  was  not,  at  his 
palace,  in  the  way  of  meeting  tourists  —  or  even  "  ex 
plorers." 

"She'll  never  know  to  whom  she  gave  her  ring," 
he  thought  with  the  dense  innocence  of  a  man  who 
has  studied  all  books  save  women's  looks.  "And  I'll 
never  know  who  gives  her  a  plain  gold  one  for  the 
finger  on  which  she  once  wore  this." 

But  in  the  next  room,  divided  from  him  by  a  single 
wall,  sat  Princess  Virginia  of  Baumenburg-Drippe. 

"When  we  meet  again  at  Kronburg,  he  mustn't 
dream  that  I  knew  all  the  time,"  she  was  saying  to 
herself.  "  That  would  spoil  everything  —  just  at  first. 
Yet  oh,  some  day  how  I  should  love  to  confess  all  — 
"kll !  Only  I  couldn't  possibly  confess  except  to  a  man 
who  would  excuse,  or  perhaps  even  approve,  because 
he  had  learned  to  love  me  —  well.  And  what  shall  I 
do,  how  shall  I  bear  my  life  now  I've  seen  him,  if  that 
day  should  never  come  ?  " 


[97 


CHAPTER  VI 
NOT  IN  THE  PROGRAM 

LETTERS  of  introduction  for  Lady  Mowbray 
and  her  daughter  to  influential  and  interest 
ing  persons  attached  to  the  Rhaetian  Court, 
were  necessarily  a  part  of  the  wonderful  plan    con 
nected  in  the    English   garden,   though  they    were 
among  the  details  thought  out  afterwards. 

The  widow  of  the  Hereditary  Grand  Duke  of 
Baumenburg-Drippe  was  reported  in  the  journals 
of  various  countries,  to  be  traveling  with  the  Prin 
cess  Virginia  and  a  small  suite,  through  Canada  and 
the  United  States;  and  fortunately  for  the  success  of 
the  innocent  plot,  the  Grand  Duchess  had  spent  so 
many  years  of  seclusion  in  England,  and  had,  even  in 
her  youth,  met  so  few  Rhaetians,  that  there  was  little 
fear  of  detection.  Her  objections  to  Virginia's  scheme 
for  winning  a  lover  instead  of  thanking  Heaven  quietly 
for  a  mere  husband,  were  based  on  other  grounds, 
[98] 


NOT    IN    THE    PROGRAM 
but  Virginia  had  overcome  them,  and  eventually  the 
Grand  Duchess  had  proved  not  only  docile,  but  posi 
tively  fertile  in  expedient. 

The  choosing  of  the  borrowed  flag  under  which  to 
sail  had  at  first  been  a  difficulty.  It  was  pointed  out  by 
a  friend  taken  into  their  confidence  (a  lady  whose  hus 
band  had  been  ambassador  to  Rhaetia),  that  a  real 
name,  and  a  name  of  some  dignity,  must  be  adopted, 
if  proper  introductions  were  to  be  given.  And  it  was  the 
Grand  Duchess  who  suggested  the  name  of  Mowbray, 
on  the  plea  that  she  had,  in  a  way,  the  right  to 
annex  it. 

The  mother  of  the  late  Duke  of  Northmoreland 
had  been  a  Miss  Mowbray,  and  there  were  still  sev 
eral  eminently  respectable,  inconspicuous  Mowbray 
cousins.  Among  these  cousins  was  a  certain  Lady 
Mowbray,  widow  of  a  baron  of  that  ilk,  and  pos 
sessing  a  daughter  some  years  older  and  innumera 
ble  degrees  plainer  than  the  Princess  Virginia. 

To  this  Lady  Mowbray  the  Grand  Duchess  had 
gone  out  of  her  way  to  be  kind  in  Germany,  long  years 
ago,  when  she  was  a  very  grand  personage  indeed, 
and  Lady  Mowbray  comparatively  a  nobody.  The 
humble  connection  had  expressed  herself  as  unspeak- 
[99] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
ably  grateful,  and  the  two  had  kept  up  a  friendship 
ever  since.  Therefore,  when  the  difficulty  of  realism 
in  a  name  presented  itself,  the  Grand  Duchess 
thought  of  Lady  Mowbray  and  Miss  Helen  Mowbray. 
They  were  about  to  leave  England  for  India,  but  had 
not  yet  left ;  and  the  widow  of  the  Baron  was  flattered 
as  well  as  amused  by  the  romantic  confidence  reposed 
in  her  by  the  widow  of  the  Grand  Duke.  She  was  de 
lighted  to  lend  her  name,  and  her  daughter's  name; 
and  who  could  blame  the  lady  if  her  mind  rushed 
forward  to  the  time  when  she  should  have  earned 
gratitude  from  the  young  Empress  of  Rhaetia  ?  for 
of  course  she  had  no  doubt  of  the  way  in  which  the 
adventure  would  end. 

As  for  the  wife  of  the  late  British  Ambassador  to 
the  Rhaetian  Court,  she'  was  not  sentimental  and 
therefore  was  not  quite  as  comfortably  sure  of  the 
sequel.  As  far  as  concerned  her  own  part  in  the  plot, 
however,  she  felt  safe  enough;  for  though  she  was, 
after  a  fashion,  deceiving  her  old  acquaintances  at 
Kronburg,  she  was  not  foisting  adventuresses  upon 
them ;  on  the  contrary,  she  was  giving  them  a  chance 
of  entertaining  angels  unawares,  by  sending  them 
letters  to  ladies  who  were  in  reality  the  Grand 
[100] 


NOT    IN    THE    PROGRAM 
Duchess  of  Baumenburg-Dripjptf  Ja'nJ' tlie  Princess 
Virginia.  ,  , , ,  i ,  >  , . .  , 

The  four  mysterious  gentlemen'  le'ft"  AHenefli'ger/ 
the  day  after  Virginia's  encounter  with  the  chamois 
hunter;  but  the  Mowbrays  lingered  on.  The  adven 
ture  had  begun  so  gloriously  that  the  girl  feared  an 
anti-climax  for  the  next  step.  Though  she  longed  for 
the  second  meeting,  she  dreaded  it  as  well,  and  put 
off  the  chance  of  it  from  day  to  day.  The  stay  of  the 
Mowbrays  at  Alleheiligen  lengthened  into  a  week, 
and  when  they  left  at  last,  it  was  only  just  in  time  for 
the  great  festivities  at  Kronburg,  which  were  to  cele 
brate  the  Emperor's  thirty-first  birthday,  an  event 
enhanced  in  national  importance  by  the  fact  that  the 
eighth  anniversary  of  his  coronation  would  fall  on 
the  same  date. 

On  the  morning  of  the  journey,  the  Grand  Duchess 
had  neuralgia  and  was  frankly  cross. 

"I  don't  see  after  all,  what  you've  accomplished 
so  far  by  this  mad  freak  which  has  dragged  us  across 
Europe,"  she  said,  fretfully,  in  the  train  which  they 
had  taken  at  a  town  twenty  miles  from  Alleheiligen. 
"  We've  perched  on  a  mountain  top,  like  the  Ark  on 
Ararat,  for  a  week,  freezing;  the  adventure  you  had 
[101] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
there  is  only  a  complication.  What  have  we  to  show 
for  our  trouble  —  unless  incipient  rheumatism  ?  " 
>•«,  •  Virginia  ha<|  nqt&iag  to  show  for  it;  at  least,  nothing 
that  she  meant  to  show,  even  to  her  mother;  but  in  a 
little  scented  bag  of  silk  which  lay  next  her  heart,  was 
folded  a  bit  of  blotting-paper.   If  you  looked  at  its 
reflection  in  a  mirror,  you  saw,  written  twice  over  in  a 
firm,  individual  hand,  the  name  "Helen  Mowbray." 

The  Princess  had  found  it  on  a  table  in  the  best 
sitting-room,  after  Frau  Yorvan  had  made  that  room 
ready  for  its  new  occupants.  Therefore  she  loved 
Alleheiligen :  therefore  she  thought  with  redoubled 
satisfaction  of  her  visit  there. 

To  learn  her  full  name,  he  must  have  thought  it 
worth  while  to  make  inquiries.  It  had  lingered  in  his 
thoughts,  or  he  would  not  have  scrawled  it  twice  on 
some  bit  of  paper  —  since  destroyed  no  doubt  —  in 
a  moment  of  idle  dreaming. 

Through  most  of  her  life,  Virginia  had  known  the 
lack  of  money;  but  she  would  not  have  exchanged  a 
thousand  pounds  for  the  contents  of  that  little  bag. 

Hohenlangenwald  is  the  name  of  the  House  from 
which  the  rulers  of  Rhaetia  sprang ;  therefore  every 
thing  in  the  beautiful  city  of  Kronburg  which   can 
[102] 


NOT    IN    THE    PROGRAM 
take  the  name  of  Hohenlangenwald,  has  taken  it;  and 
it  was  at  the  Hohenlangenwald  Hotel  that  a  suite  of 
rooms  had  been  engaged  for  Lady  Mowbray. 

The  travelers  broke  the  long  journey  at  Melinabad ; 
and  Virginia's  study  of  trains  had  timed  their  ar 
rival  in  Kronburg  for  the  morning  of  the  birthday 
eve,  early  enough  for  the  first  ceremony  of  the  festivi 
ties;  the  unveiling  by  the  Emperor  of  a  statue  of 
Rhaetia  in  the  Leopoldplatz,  directly  in  front  of  the 
Hohenlangenwald  Hotel. 

Virginia  looked  forward  to  seeing  the  Emperor 
from  her  own  windows ;  as  according  to  her  calcula 
tion,  there  was  an  hour  to  spare;  but  at  the  station 
they  were  told  by  the  driver  of  the  carriage  sent  to 
meet  them,  that  the  crowd  in  the  streets  being  already 
very  great,  he  feared  it  would  be  a  tedious  under 
taking  to  get  through.  Some  of  the  thoroughfares  were 
closed  for  traffic;  he  would  have  to  go  by  a  rounda 
bout  way;  and  in  any  case  could  not  reach  the  main 
entrance  of  the  hotel.  At  best,  he  would  have  to  deposit 
his  passengers  and  their  luggage  at  a  side  entrance, 
in  a  narrow  street. 

As  the  carriage  started,  from  far  away  came  a 
burst  of  martial  music;  a  military  band  playing  the 
[103] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
national  air  which  the  chamois  hunter  had  heard  a 
girl  sing,  behind  a  closed  door  at  Alleheiligen. 

The  shops  were  all  shut  —  would  be  shut  until 
the  day  after  to-morrow,  but  their  windows  were  un 
shuttered  and  gaily  decorated,  to  add  to  the  brightness 
of  the  scene.  Strange  old  shops  displayed  the  marvel 
ous,  chased  silver,  the  jeweled  weapons  and  gor 
geous  embroideries  from  the  far  eastern  provinces  of 
Rhaetia;  splendid  new  shops  rivaled  the  best  of  the 
Rue  de  la  Paix  in  Paris.  Gray  medieval  buildings 
made  wonderful  backgrounds  for  drapery  of  crimson 
and  blue,  and  garlands  of  blazing  flowers.  Modern 
buildings  of  purple-red  porphyry  and  the  famous 
honey-yellow  marble  of  Rhaetia,  fluttered  with  flags ; 
and  above  all,  in  the  heart  of  the  town,  between  old 
and  new,  rose  the  Castle  Rock.  Virginia's  pulses  beat, 
as  she  saw  the  home  of  Leopold  for  the  first  time,  and 
she  was  proud  of  its  picturesqueness,  its  riches  and 
grandeur,  as  if  she  had  some  right  in  it,  too. 

Ancient,  narrow  streets,  and  wide  new  streets,  were 
alike  arbors  of  evergreen  and  brillant  blossoms. 
Prosperous  citizens  in  their  best,  inhabitants  of  the 
poorer  quarters,  and  stalwart  peasants  from  the  coun 
try,  elbowed  and  pushed  each  other  good-naturedly, 
[104] 


NOT  IN  THE  PROGRAM 
as  they  streamed  toward  the  Leopoldplatz.  Hand 
some  people  they  were,  the  girl  thought,  her  heart 
warming  to  them ;  and  to  her  it  seemed  that  the  very 
air  tingled  with  expectation.  She  believed  that  she 
could  feel  the  magnetic  thrill  in  it,  even  if  she  were 
blind  and  deaf,  and  could  hear  or  see  nothing  of  the 
excitement. 

"  We  must  be  in  time  —  we  shall  be  in  time ! "  she 
said  to  herself.  "  I  shall  lean  out  from  my  window  and 
see  him." 

But  at  the  hotel,  which  they  did  finally  reach,  the 
girl  had  to  bear  a  keen  disappointment.  With  many 
apologies  the  landlord  explained  that  he  had  done  his 
very  best  for  Lady  Mowbray's  party  when  he  received 
their  letter  a  fortnight  before,  and  that  he  had  allotted 
them  a  good  suite,  with  balconies  overlooking  the 
river  at  the  back  of  the  house  —  quite  a  Venetian 
effect,  as  her  ladyship  would  find.  But,  as  to  rooms 
at  the  front,  impossible !  All  had  been  engaged  fully 
six  weeks  in  advance.  One  American  millionaire  was 
paying  a  thousand  gulden  solely  for  an  hour's  use  of 
a  small  balcony,  to-day  for  the  unveiling  and  again 
to-morrow  for  the  street  procession.  Virginia  was 
pale  with  disappointment.  "Then  I'll  go  down  into 
[105] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
the  crowd  and  take  my  chance  of  seeing  something," 
she  said  to  her  mother,  when  they  had  been  shown 
into  handsome  rooms,  satisfactory  in  everything  but 
situation.  "  I  must  hurry,  or  there'll  be  no  hope." 

"  My  dear  child,  impossible  for  you  to  do  such 
a  thing!"  exclaimed  the  Grand  Duchess.  "I  can't 
think  of  allowing  it.  Fancy  what  a  crush  there  will  be. 
All  sorts  of  creatures  trampling  on  each  other  for 
places.  Besides,  you  could  see  nothing." 

"Oh,  Mother,"  pleaded  the  Princess,  in  her  softest, 
sweetest  voice  —  the  voice  she  kept  for  extreme  emer 
gencies  of  cajoling.  "  I  couldn't  bear  to  stay  shut  up 
here  while  that  music  plays  and  the  crowds  shout 
themselves  hoarse  for  my  Emperor.  Besides,  it's  the 
most  curious  thing  —  I  feel  as  if  a  voice  kept  calling 
to  me  that  I  must  be  there.  Miss  Portman  and  I'll 
take  care  of  each  other.  You  will  let  me  go,  won't 
you?" 

Of  course  the  Grand  Duchess  yielded,  her  one  stip 
ulation  being  that  the  two  should  keep  close  to  the 
hotel ;  and  the  Princess  urged  her  reluctant  compan 
ion  away  without  waiting  to  hear  her  mother's  last 
counsels. 

Their  rooms  were  on  the  first  floor,  and  the  girl 
[106] 


NOT    IN    THE    PROGRAM 
hurried  eagerly  down  the  broad  flight  of  marble  stairs, 
Miss  Portman  following  dutifully  upon  her  heels. 

They  could  not  get  out  by  way  of  the  front  door, 
for  people  had  paid  for  standing  room  there,  and 
would  not  yield  an  inch,  even  for  an  instant;  while  the 
two  or  three  steps  below,  and  the  broad  pavement  in 
front  were  as  closely  blocked. 

Matters  began  to  look  hopeless,  but  Virginia  would 
not  be  daunted.  They  tried  the  side  entrance  and 
found  it  free,  the  street  into  which  it  led  being  com 
paratively  empty;  but  just  beyond,  where  it  ran  into 
the  great  open  square  of  the  Leopoldplatz,  there  was 
a  solid  wall  of  sight-seers. 

"We  might  as  well  go  back,"  said  Miss  Portman, 
who  had  none  of  the  Princess's  keenness  for  the  under 
taking.  She  was  tired  after  the  journey,  and  for  her 
self,  would  rather  have  had  a  cup  of  tea  than  see  fifty 
emperors  unveil  as  many  statues  by  celebrated  sculp 
tors. 

"Oh  no!"  cried  Virginia.  "We'll  get  to  the  front, 
somehow,  sooner  or  later,  even  if  we're  taken  off  our 
feet.  Look  at  that  man  just  ahead  of  us.  He  doesn't 
mean  to  turn  back.  He's  not  a  nice  man,  but  he's 
terribly  determined.  Let's  keep  close  to  him,  and  see 
[107] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
what  he  means  to  do;  then,  maybe,  we  shall  be  able 
to  do  it  as  well." 

Miss  Portman  glanced  at  the  person  indicated  by 
a  nod  of  the  Princess's  head.  Undismayed  by  the  mass 
of  human  beings  that  blocked  the  Leopoldplatz  a 
few  yards  ahead,  he  walked  rapidly  along  without  the 
least  hesitation.  He  had  the  air  of  knowing  exactly 
what  he  wanted  to  do,  and  how  to  do  it.  Even  Miss 
Portman,  who  had  no  imagination,  saw  this  by  his 
back.  The  set  of  the  head  on  the  shoulders  was  singu 
larly  determined,  and  the  walk  revealed  a  conscious 
ness  of  importance  accounted  for,  perhaps,  by  the 
gray  and  crimson  uniform  which  might  be  that  of 
some  official  order.  On  the  sleek,  black  head  was  a 
large  cocked  hat,  adorned  with  an  eagle's  feather, 
fastened  in  place  by  a  gaudy  jewel,  and  this  hat  was 
pulled  down  very  far  over  the  face. 
;„,.  "  Perhaps  he  knows  that  they'll  let  him  through," 
said  Miss  Portman.  "  He  seems  to  be  a  dignitary  of 
some  sort.  We  can't  do  better,  if  you're  determined  to 
go  on,  than  keep  near  him." 

"  "He  has  the   air  of  being   ready  to  die,"  whis 
pered  Virginia,    for    they  were   close   to   the   man 

now. 

[108] 


NOT    IN    THE    PROGRAM 

"How  can  you  tell?  We  haven't  seen  his  face," 
replied  the  other,  in  the  same  cautious  tone. 

"No.  But  look  at  the  back  of  his  neck,  and  his 
ears." 

Miss  Portman  looked  and  gave  a  little  shiver.  She 
would  never  have  thought  of  observing  it,  if  her  at 
tention  had  not  been  called  by  the  Princess.  But  it 
was  true.  The  back  of  the  man's  neck  and  his  ears 
were  of  a  ghastly,  yellow  white. 

"Horrid!"  she  ejaculated.  "He's  probably  dying 
of  some  contagious  disease.  Do  let's  get  away  from 
him." 

"No,  no,"  said  Virginia.  "He's  our  only  hope. 
They're  going  to  let  him  pass  through.  Listen." 

Miss  Portman  listened,  but  as  she  understood  only 
such  words  of  Rhaetian  as  she  had  picked  up  in  the 
last  few  weeks,  she  could  merely  surmise  that  he  was 
ordering  the  crowd  out  of  his  way  because  he  had  a 
special  message  from  the  Lord  Chancellor  to  the 
Burgomaster. 

The  human  wall  opened ;  the  man  darted  through, 

and  Miss  Portman  was  dragged  after  him  by  the 

Princess.  So  close  to  him  had  they  kept,  that  they 

might  easily  be  supposed  to  be  under  his  escort;  and 

[109] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
in  any  case,  they  passed  before  there  was  time  to  dis 
pute  their  right  of  way. 

"It  must  be  the  secretary  of  Herr  Koffman,  the 
new  Burgomaster,"  Virginia  heard  one  man  say  to 
another.  "  And  those  ladies  are  with  him." 

On  and  on,  through  the  crowd,  passed  the  man  in 
gray  and  crimson,  oblivious  of  the  two  women  who 
were  using  him.  There  was  something  about  that 
disagreeable  back  of  his  which  proclaimed  him  a  man 
of  but  one  idea  at  a  time.  Close  to  the  front  line  of 
spectators,  however,  there  came  a  check.  People  were 
vexed  at  the  audacity  of  the  girl  and  the  elderly 
woman,  and  would  have  pushed  them  back,  but  at 
the  critical  second  the  blue  and  silver  uniformed 
band  of  Rhaetia's  crack  regiment,  the  Imperial  Life 
Guards,  struck  up  an  air  which  told  that  the  Emperor 
was  coming.  Promptly  the  small  group  concerned 
forgot  its  grievance,  in  excitement,  crowding  together 
so  that  Virginia  was  pressed  to  the  front,  and  only 
Miss  Portman  was  pushed  ruthlessly  into  the  back 
ground. 

The  poor  lady  raised  a  feeble  protest  in  English, 
which  nobody  heeded,  unless  it  were  the  man  who 
had  inadvertently  acted  as  pioneer.  At  her  shrill  out- 
[110] 


NOT  IN  THE  PROGRAM 
burst  he  turned  quickly,  as  if  startled  by  the  sudden 
cry,  and  Virginia  was  so  close  to  him  that  her  chin 
almost  touched  his  shoulder.  For  the  first  time  she 
had  a  glimpse  of  his  face,  which  matched  the  yellow 
wax  of  his  neck  in  pallor. 

The  girl  shrank  away  from  him  involuntarily. 
"What  a  death's  head  !"  she  thought.  "A  sly,  wicked 
face,  and  awful  eyes.  He  looks  frightened.  I  wonder 
why!" 

Assured  that  the  sharp  cry  did  not  concern  him, 
the  man  turned  to  the  front  again,  and  having  ob 
tained  his  object  —  a  place  in  the  foremost  rank  of 
the  crowd,  with  one  incidentally  for  the  Princess  — 
he  proceeded  to  take  from  his  breast  a  roll  of  parch 
ment,  tied  with  a  narrow  ribbon,  and  sealed  with  a 
large  red  seal.  As  he  drew  it  out,  and  rearranged  his 
coat,  his  hand  trembled.  It,  too,  was  yellow  white. 
The  fellow  seemed  to  have  no  blood  in  him. 

Virginia,  standing  now  shoulder  to  shoulder  with 
the  man  in  gray  and  crimson,  had  just  time  to  feel  a 
stirring  of  dislike  and  perhaps  curiosity,  when  a  great 
cheer  arose  from  thousands  of  throats.  The  square 
rang  with  a  roar  of  loyal  acclamation;  men  waved 
tall  hats,  soft  hats,  and  green  peasant  hats  with 
[111] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
feathers.  Beautifully  dressed  women  grouped  on  the 
high,  decorated  balconies  waved  handkerchiefs  or 
scattered  roses  from  gilded  baskets ;  women  in  gorge 
ous  costumes  from  far-off  provinces  held  up  half- 
frightened,  half-laughing  children;  and  then  a  white 
figure  on  a  white  charger  came  riding  into  the  square 
under  the  triumphal  arch  wreathed  with  flags  and 
flowers. 

Other  figures  followed;  men  in  uniforms  of  green 
and  gold  and  red,  on  coal  black  horses,  yet  Virginia 
saw  only  the  white  figure,  shining,  wonderful. 

Under  the  glittering  helmet  of  steel  with  its  gold 
eagle,  the  dark  face  was  clear-cut  as  a  cameo,  and 
the  eyes  were  bright  with  a  proud  light.  To  the  crowd, 
he  was  the  Emperor;  a  fine,  popular,  brilliant  young 
man,  who  ruled  his  country  better  than  it  had  been 
ruled  yet  by  one  of  his  House,  and  above  all,  pro 
vided  many  a  pleasing  spectacle  for  the  people.  But 
to  Virginia  he  was  far  more;  an  ideal  Sir  Galahad, 
or  a  St.  George  strong  and  brave  to  slay  all  dragon- 
wrongs  which  might  threaten  his  wide  land. 

"  What  if  he  should  never  love  me  ?  "  was  the  one 
sharp  thought  which  pierced  her  pride  of  him. 

The  people  were  proud,  too,  as  he  sat  there  control- 
[112] 


NOT    IN    THE    PROGRAM 
ling  the  white  war-horse  with  its  gold  and  silver  trap 
pings,  the  crusted  jewels  of  many  Orders  sparkling  on 
his  breast,  while  he  saluted  his  subjects,  in  his  sol 
dier's  way. 

For  a  moment  there  was  a  pause,  save  for  a  shout 
ing,  which  rose  and  rose  again;  then  he  alighted, 
whereupon  important  looking  men  with  ribbons  and 
decorations  came  forward  bowing,  to  receive  the 
Emperor.  The  ceremony  of  unveiling  the  statue  of 
Rhaetia  was  about  to  begin. 

To  reach  the  great  crimson-draped  platform  on 
which  he  was  to  stand,  the  Emperor  must  pass  within 
a  few  yards  of  Virginia.  His  gaze  flashed  over  the  gay 
crowd.  What  if  it  should  rest  upon  her  ?  The  girl's 
heart  was  in  her  throat.  She  could  feel  it  beating 
there;  and  for  a  moment  the  tall,  white  figure  was 
lost  in  a  mist  which  dimmed  her  eyes. 

She  had  forgotten  how  she  came  to  this  place  of 
vantage,  forgotten  the  pale  man  in  gray  and  red  to 
whom  she  owed  her  good  fortune;  but  suddenly, 
while  her  heart  was  at  its  loudest,  and  the  mist  before 
her  eyes  at  its  thickest,  she  grew  conscious  again  of 
his  existence,  poignantly  conscious  of  his  close  pres 
ence.  So  near  her  he  stood  that  a  quick  start,  a  gather- 
[113] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
ing  of  his  muscles  for  a  spring,  shot  like  an  electric 
message  through  her  own  body. 

The  mist  was  burnt  up  in  the  flame  of  a  strange 
enlightenment,  a  clarity  of  vision  which  showed,  not 
only  the  hero  of  the  day,  the  throng,  and  the  wax- 
white  man  beside  her,  but  something  which  was  in 
the  soul  of  that  man  as  well. 

"  He  is  going  to  kill  the  Emperor." 

It  was  as  if  a  voice  spoke  the  words  in  her  ear.  She 
knew  now  why  she  had  struggled  to  win  this  place, 
why  she  had  succeeded,  what  she  had  to  do  —  or  die 
in  failing  to  do. 

Leopold  was  not  half  a  dozen  yards  away,  and  was 
coming  nearer.  No  one  but  Virginia  suspected  evil. 
She  alone  had  felt  the  thrill  of  a  murderer's  nerves, 
the  tense  spring  of  his  muscles.  She  alone  guessed 
what  the  roll  of  parchment  hid, 

"  Now — now ! "  the  voice  seemed  to  whisper  again, 
and  she  had  no  fear. 

While  the  crowd  shouted  wildly  for  "  Unser  Leo ! " 
a  man  in  gray  and  red  leaped,  catlike,  at  the  white 
figure  that  advanced.  Something  sharp  and  bright 
flashed  out  from  a  roll  of  parchment,  catching  the 
sun  in  a  streak  of  steely  light. 
[114] 


"  Let  the  law  deal  with  the  madnldfii  'it  Is;  m'u  &;>&*>. 


NOT    IN    THE    PROGRAM 
Leopold  saw,  but  not  in  time  to  swerve.  The  crowd 
shrieked,  rushed  forward,  too  late,  and  the  blade 
would  have  drunk  his  life,  had  not  the  girl  who  had 
felt  all,  seen  all,  struck  up  the  arm  before  it  fell. 

The  rest  was  darkness  for  her.  She  knew  only  that 
she  was  sobbing,  and  that  the  great  square  with  its 
crowded  balconies,  its  ropes  of  green,  its  waving  flags, 
seemed  to  collapse  upon  her  and  blot  her  out. 

It  was  Leopold  who  caught  her  as  she  swayed :  and 
while  the  people  surged  around  the  thwarted  mur 
derer,  the  Emperor  sprang  up  the  steps  of  the  great 
crimson  platform,  with  the  girl  against  his  heart. 

It  was  her  blood  that  stained  the  pure  white  of  his 
uniform,  the  blood  from  her  arm  wounded  in  his  de 
fense.  And  holding  her  up  he  stood  dominating  the 
crowd. 

Down  there  at  the  foot  of  the  steps,  the  man  in  gray 
and  red  was  like  a  spent  fox  among  the  hounds,  and 
Leopold's  people  in  the  fury  of  their  rage  would  have 
torn  him  in  pieces  as  the  hounds  tear  the  fox,  despite 
the  cordon  of  police  that  gathered  round  him.  But 
the  voice  of  the  Emperor  bade  his  subjects  fall  back. 

"My  people  shall  not  be  assassins,"  he  cried  to 
E115] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
them.  "  Let  the  law  deal  with  the  madman ;  it  is  my 
will.  Look  at  me,  alive  and  unhurt.  Now,  give  your 
cheers  for  the  lady  who  has  saved  my  life,  and  the 
ceremonies  shall  go  on." 

Three  cheers,  had  he  said  ?  They  gave  three  times 
three,  and  bade  fair  to  split  the  skies  with  shouts  for 
the  Emperor.  While  women  laughed  and  wept  and  all 
eyes  were  upon  that  noble  pair  on  the  red  platform, 
something  limp  and  gray  was  hurried  out  of  sight  and 
off  to  prison.  On  a  signal  the  national  anthem  began; 
the  voices  of  the  people  joined  the  brass  instruments. 
All  Kronburg  was  singing;  or  asking  "Who  is  she  ?"' 
of  the  girl  at  the  Emperor's  side. 


[116] 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  HONORS  OF  THE  DAY 

IT  is  those  in  the  thick  of  the   battle   who   can 
afterwards  tell  least  about  it;  and  to  the  Prin 
cess   those   five   minutes  —  moments   the  most 
tremendous,  the  most  vital  of  her  life  —  were  after 
wards  in  memory  like  a  dream. 

She  had  seen  that  a  man  was  ghastly  pale;  she  had 
caught  a  gleam  of  fear  in  his  eye;  she  had  felt  a 
tigerish  quiver  run  through  his  frame  as  the  crowd 
pressed  him  against  her.  Instinct  —  and  love  — 
had  told  her  the  rest,  and  taught  her  how  to  act. 

Vaguely  she  recalled  later,  that  she  had  thrown 
herself  forward  and  struck  up  the  knife.  An  impres 
sion  of  that  knife  as  the  light  gleamed  on  it,  alone 
was  clear.  Sickening,  she  had  thought  of  the  dull 
sound  it  would  make  in  falling,  of  the  blood  that 
would  spout  from  a  rent  in  the  white  coat,  among 
the  jeweled  orders,  She  had  thought,  as  one  thinks 
[117] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
in  dying,  of  existence  in  a  world  empty  of  Leopold, 
and  she  had  known  that  unless  he  could  be  saved, 
her  one  wish  was  to  go  out  of  the  world  with  him. 

More  than  this  she  had  not  thought  or  known. 
What  she  did  was  done  scarcely  by  her  own  volition, 
and  she  seemed  to  wake  with  a  start  at  last,  to  hear 
herself  sobbing,  and  to  feel  the  throb,  throb,  of  a  hot 
pain  in  her  arm. 

A  hundred  hands  —  not  quick  enough  to  save,  yet 
quick  enough  to  follow  the  lead  given  by  her  —  had 
fought  to  seize  the  man  in  gray,  and  stop  a  second 
blow.  They  had  borne  him  away;  while  as  for  Vir 
ginia,  her  work  done,  she  forgot  everything  and 
every  one  but  Leopold. 

Reviving,  she  had  heard  him  speak  to  the  crowd, 
and  told  herself  dreamily  that,  were  she  dying,  his 
voice  could  bring  her  back  if  he  called.  She  even 
listened  to  each  word  that  rang  out  like  a  cathedral 
bell,  above  the  babel.  Still  he  held  her,  and  when  the 
cheers  came,  she  scarcely  understood  that  they  were 
for  her  as  well  as  for  Leopold  the  Emperor.  After 
wards,  the  necessity  for  public  action  over,  he  bent 
his  head  close  enough  to  whisper,  "Thank  you"; 
and  then  for  Virginia  every  syllable  was  clear. 
[118] 


THE    HONORS    OF    THE    DAY 

"You  are  the  bravest  woman  alive,"  he  said.  "I 
had  to  keep  them  from  killing  that  ruffian,  but  now 
I  can  speak  to  you  alone.  I  thank  you  for  what  you 
did,  with  my  whole  heart,  and  I  pray  Heaven  you're 
not  seriously  hurt." 

"No,  not  hurt,  and  very  happy,"  the  Princess 
answered,  hardly  knowing  what  she  said.  She  felt 
like  a  soul  released  from  its  body,  floating  in  blue 
ether.  What  could  it  matter  if  that  body  ached  or 
bled  ?  Leopold  was  safe,  and  she  had  saved  him. 

He  pointed  to  her  sleeve.  "The  knife  struck  you. 
Your  arm's  bleeding,  and  the  wound  must  be  seen 
immediately  by  my  own  surgeon.  Would  that  I  could 
go  with  you  myself,  but  duty  keeps  me  here;  you 
understand  that.  Baron  von  Lyndal  and  his  wife  will 
at  once  take  you  home,  wherever  you  may  be  staying. 
They  — " 

"But  I  would  rather  stop  and  see  the  rest,"  said 
Virginia.  "I'm  quite  well  now,  not  even  weak,  and 
I  can  go  down  to  my  friend  — ' 

"  If  you're  able  to  stop,  it  must  be  here  with  me," 
answered  Leopold.  "  After  the  service  you  have  done 
for  me  and  for  the  country,  it  is  your  place." 

The  ladies  of  the  court,  who,  with  their  husbands, 
[119] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
had  been  waiting  to  congratulate  Leopold,  crowded 
round  the  girl  as  the  Emperor  turned  to  them  with  a 
look  and  gesture  of  invitation.  A  seat  was  given  her, 
and  the  arm  in  its  blood-stained  sleeve  was  hastily 
bound  up.  She  was  the  heroine  of  the  day,  dividing 
honors  with  its  hero. 

There  was  scarcely  a  grande  dame  among  the 
brilliant  assemblage  on  the  Emperor's  platform,  to 
whom  Lady  Mowbray  and  her  daughter  had  not  a 
letter  of  introduction,  from  their  invaluable  friend. 
But  no  one  knew  at  this  moment  of  any  title  to  their 
recognition  possessed  by  the  girl,  other  than  the  right 
she  had  earned  by  her  splendid  deed.  All  smiled  on 
her  through  grateful  tears,  though  there  were  some 
who  would  have  given  their  ten  fingers  to  have  step 
ped  into  her  place. 

Thus  Virginia  sat  through  the  ceremonies,  careless 
that  thousands  of  eyes  were  on  her  face,  thinking 
only  of  one  pair  of  eyes,  which  spared  a  glance  for 
her  now  and  then ;  hardly  seeing  the  statue  of  Rhaetia 
whose  glorious  marble  womanhood  unveiled  roused 
a  storm  of  enthusiasm  from  the  crowd;  hearing  only 
the  short,  stirring  speech  made  by  Leopold. 

When  everything  was  over,  and  the  people  had  no 
[12011 


THE    HONORS    OF    THE    DAY 
excuse  to  linger  save  to  see  the  Emperor  ride  away 
and  the  great  personages  disperse,  Leopold  turned 
again  to  Virginia. 

All  the  world  was  listening,  of  course ;  all  the  world 
was  watching,  too ;  and  no  matter  what  his  inclination 
might  have  been,  his  words  could  be  but  few. 

Once  more  he  thanked  and  praised  her  for  her 
courage,  her  presence  of  mind;  thanked  her  for  re 
maining,  as  if  she  had  been  granting  a  favor  to  him; 
and  asked  where  she  was  stopping,  in  Kronburg  as 
he  promised  himself  the  honor  of  sending  to  inquire 
for  her  health  that  evening. 

His  desire  would  be  to  call  at  once  in  person, 
he  added,  but,  owing  to  the  program  arranged  for 
this  day  and  several  days  to  follow,  not  only  each 
hour  but  each  moment  would  be  officially  occupied. 
These  birthday  festivities  were  troublesome,  but 
duty  must  be  done.  And  then,  Leopold  repeated 
(when  he  had  Miss  Mowbray's  name  and  address), 
the  court  surgeon  and  physician  would  be  com 
manded  to  attend  upon  her  without  delay. 

With  these  words  and  a  chivalrous  courtesy  at 
parting,  the  Emperor  was  gone,  Baron  von  Lyndal, 
Grand    Master    of  Ceremonies,   and   his   Baroness 
[121] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
having   been   told   off   to   take  care  of  Miss  Mow- 
bray. 

In  another  mood  it  would  have  pricked  Virginia's 
sense  of  humor  to  see  Baroness  von  LyndaPs  almost 
shocked  surprise  at  discovering  her  to  be  the  daughter 
of  that  Lady  Mowbray  whom  she  was  asked  to  meet. 
(Luckily  all  the  letters  of  introduction  had  reached 
their  destination,  it  merely  remaining,  according  to 
etiquette  in  Rhaetia,  for  Lady  Mowbray  to  announce 
her  arrival  in  Kronburg  by  sending  cards  to  the 
recipients.)  But  Virginia  had  no  heart  for  laughter 
now. 

She  had  been  on  the  point  of  forgetting,  until  re 
minded  by  a  dig  from  the  spur  of  necessity,  that  she 
was  only  a  masquerader,  acting  her  borrowed  part 
in  a  pageant.  For  the  first  time  since  she  had  hopefully 
taken  it  up,  that  part  became  detestable.  She  would 
have  given  almost  anything  to  throw  it  off,  and  be 
herself;  for  nothing  less  than  clear  sincerity  seemed 
worthy  of  this  day  and  the  event  which  crowned  it. 

Nevertheless,  in  the  vulgar  language  of  proverb 

which  no  well  brought-up  Princess  should  ever  stoop 

to  use,  she  had  made  her  own  bed,  and  she  must  lie 

in  it.  It  would  not  do  for  her  suddenly  to  give  out  to 

[122] 


TH|E  HONORS  OF  THE  DAY 
the  world  of  Kronburg  that  she  was  not,  after  all, 
Miss  Mowbray,  but  Princess  Virginia  of  Baumen- 
burg-Drippe.  That  would  not  be  fair  to  the  Grand 
Duchess,  who  had  yielded  to  her  wishes,  nor  fair  to 
her  own  plans.  Above  all,  it  would  not  be  fair  to  the 
Emperor,  handicapped  as  he  now  was  by  a  debt  of 
gratitude.  No;  Miss  Mowbray  she  was,  and  Miss 
Mowbray  she  must  for  the  present  remain. 

Naturally  the  Grand  Duchess  fainted  when  her 
daughter  was  brought  back  with  ominous  red  stains 
upon  the  gray  background  of  her  traveling  dress. 
But  the  wound  was  neither  deep  nor  dangerous.  The 
court  surgeon  was  as  consoling  as  he  was  compli 
mentary,  and  by  the  time  that  messengers  from  the 
palace  had  arrived  with  inquiries  from  the  Em 
peror  and  invitations  to  the  Emperor's  ball,  the 
mother  of  the  heroine  could  dispense  with  her  sal 
volatile. 

She  had  fortunately  much  to  think  of.  There  was 
the  important  question  of  dress  for  the  ball  to-morrow 
night;  there  was  the  still  more  pressing  question  of 
the  newspapers,  which  must  not  be  allowed  to  publish 
the  borrowed  name  of  Mowbray,  lest  complications 
should  arise;  and  there  were  the  questions  to  be  asked 
[123] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

of  Virginia.  How  had  she  felt  ?  How  had  she  dared  ? 
How  had  the  Emperor  looked,  and  what  had  the 
Emperor  said  ? 

If  it  had  been  natural  for  the  Grand  Duchess  to 
faint,  it  was  equally  natural  that  she  should  not  faint 
twice.  She  began  to  believe,  after  all,  that  Providence 
smiled  upon  Virginia  and  her  adventure;  and  she 
wondered  whether  the  Princess's  white  satin  em 
broidered  with  seed  pearls,  or  the  silver  spangled 
blue  tulle  would  be  more  becoming  to  wear  to  the 
ball. 

Next  day  the  Rhaetian  newspapers  devoted  col 
umns  to  the  attack  upon  the  Emperor  by  an  anarch 
ist  from  a  certain  province  (once  Italian),  who  had 
disguised  himself  as  an  official  in  the  employ  of  the 
Burgomaster.  There  were  long  paragraphs  in  praise 
of  the  lady  who,  with  marvelous  courage  and  presence 
of  mind,  had  sprung  between  the  Emperor  and  the 
assassin,  receiving  on  the  arm  with  which  she  had 
shielded  Unser  Leo  a  glancing  blow  from  the  weapon 
aimed  t  t  the  Imperial  breast.  But,  thanks  to  a  few 
earnestly  imploring  words  written  by  "Lady  Mow- 
bray"  to  Baron  von  Lyndal,  commands  impressed 
upon  the  landlord  of  the  hotel,  and  the  fact  that 
[124] 


THE    HONORS    OF    THE    DAY 

Rhaetian  editors  are  not  as  modern  as  Americans  in 
their  methods,  the  lady  was  not  named.  She  was  a 
foreigner  and  a  stranger  to  the  capital  of  Rhaetia; 
she  was,  according  to  the  papers,  "as  yet  unknown." 


[125] 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  EMPEROR'S  BALL 

NOT  a   window   of  the  fourteenth  century, 
yellow  marble  palace  on  the  hill,  with  its 
famous  Garden  of  the  Nine  Fountains,  that 
was  not  ablaze  with  light,  glittering  against  a  far 
away  background  of  violet  mountains  crowned  by 
snow. 

Outside  the  tall,  bronze  gates  where  marble  lions 
crouched,  the  crowd  who  might  not  pass  beyond 
stared,  chattered,  pointed  and  exclaimed,  without 
jealousy  of  their  betters.  Unser  Leo  was  giving  a  ball, 
and  it  was  enough  for  their  happiness  to  watch  the 
slow  moving  line  of  splendid  state  coaches,  gorgeous 
automobiles,  and  neat  broughams  with  well-known 
crests  upon  their  doors;  to  strive  good-naturedly  for 
a  peep  at  the  faces  and  dresses,  the  jewels  and  pictur 
esque  uniforms;  to  comment  upon  all  freely  but 
never  impudently,  asking  one  another  what  would 
[126] 


THE    EMPEROR'S    BALL 
be  for  supper,  and  with  whom  the  Emperor  would 
dance. 

"  There  she  is  —  there's  the  beautiful  young  foreign 
lady  who  saved  him ! "  cried  a  girl  in  the  throng.  "  I 
was  there  and  saw  her,  I  tell  you.  Isn't  she  an  angel  ?  " 

Instantly  a  hearty  cheer  went  up,  growing  in  vol 
ume,  and  the  green-coated  policemen  had  to  keep 
back  the  crowd  that  would  have  stopped  the  horses 
and  pressed  close  for  a  long  look  into  a  plain,  dark- 
blue  brougham. 

Virginia  shrank  out  of  sight  against  the  cushions, 
blushing,  and  breathing  quickly  as  she  caught  her 
mother's  hand. 

"Dear  people,  —  dear,  kind  people,"  she  thought. 
"  I  love  them  for  loving  him.  I  wonder,  oh  I  wonder, 
if  they  will  ever  see  me  and  cheer  me,  driving  by  his 
side?" 

She  had  chosen  to  wear  the  white  dress  with  the 
pearls,  though  up  to  the  last  moment  the  Grand 
Duchess  had  suffered  tortures  of  indecision  between 
that  and  the  blue,  to  say  nothing  of  a  pink  chiffon 
trimmed  with  crushed  roses.  Before  the  carriage 
brought  them  to  the  palace  doors,  the  girl's  blush  had 
faded,  and  her  face  was  as  white  as  her  gown  when 
[127] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
at  her  mother's   side   she  passed   between   bowing 
lackeys  through  the  marble  Hall  of  Lions,  on  through 
the  frescoed  Rittersaal  to  the  throne  room  where  the 
Emperor's  guests  awaited  his  coming. 

It  was  etiquette  not  to  arrive  a  moment  later  than 
ten  o'clock;  and  a  few  minutes  after  the  hour  Baron 
von  Lyndal,  in  his  official  capacity  as  Grand  Master 
of  Ceremonies,  struck  the  polished  floor  twice  with 
his  gold-knobbed  wand  of  ivory.  This  signaled  the 
approach  of  the  court  from  the  Imperial  dinner 
party,  and  Leopold  entered,  with  a  stout,  middle- 
aged  Royal  Highness  from  Russia  on  his  arm. 

Until  his  arrival  the  beautiful  Miss  Mowbray  had 
held  all  eyes;  and  even  when  he  appeared,  she  was 
not  forgotten.  Every  one  was  on  tenter  hooks  to  see 
how  she  would  be  greeted  by  the  grateful  Emperor. 

The  instant  that  his  dark  head  towered  above  other 
heads  in  the  throne  room,  it  was  observed  even  by 
those  not  usually  observant,  that  never  had  Leopold 
been  so  handsome. 

His  was  a  face  remarkable  for  intellect  and  firm 
ness   rather   than   for   classical   beauty   of   feature, 
though  his  features  were  strong  and  clearly  cut;  but 
to-night  the  sternness  that  sometimes  marred  them 
[128] 


THE    EMPEROR'S    BALL 

in  the  eyes  of  women  was  smoothed  away.  He  looked 
young  and  ardent,  almost  boyish,  like  a  man  who  has 
suddenly  found  an  absorbing  new  interest  in  life. 

The  first  dance  he  went  through  with  the  Russian 
Royalty,  who  was  the  guest  of  the  evening;  and,  still 
rigidly  conforming  to  the  line  of  duty  (which  obtains 
in  court  ball-rooms  as  on  battlefields),  the  second, 
third  and  fourth  dances  were  for  the  Emperor  pen 
ances  instead  of  pleasures.  But  for  the  fifth  —  a  waltz 
-  he  bowed  before  Virginia. 

During  this  long  hour  there  had  been  hardly  a 
movement,  smile  or  glance  of  hers  which  he  had  not 
contrived  to  see,  since  his  entrance.  He  knew  just 
how  well  Baron  von  Lyndal  carried  out  his  instruc 
tions  concerning  Miss  Mowbray.  He  saw  each  part 
ner  presented  to  her  for  a  dance  the  Emperor  might 
not  claim ;  and  to  save  his  life,  or  a  national  crisis,  he 
could  not  have  forced  the  same  expression  in  speak 
ing  with  her  Royal  Highness  from  Russia,  as  that 
which  spontaneously  brightened  his  face  when  at 
last  he  approached  Virginia. 

"  Who  is  that  girl  ?  "  asked  Count  von  Breitstein, 
in  his  usual  abrupt  manner,  as  the  arm  of  Leopold 
girdled  the  slim  waist  of  the  Princess,  and  the  eyes  of 
[129] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

Leopold  drank  light  from  another  pair  of  eyes  lifted 
to  his  in  laughter. 

It  was  to  Baroness  von  Lyndal  that  the  old  Chan 
cellor  put  his  question,  and  she  fluttered  a  tiny,  dia 
mond-spangled  fan  of  lace  to  hide  lips  that  would 
smile,  as  she  answered,  "  What,  Chancellor,  are  you 
jesting,  or  don't  you  really  know  who  that  girl  is  ?  " 

Count  von  Breitstein  turned  eyes  cold  and  gray  as 
glass  away  from  the  two  figures  moving  rhythmically 
with  the  music,  to  the  face  of  the  once  celebrated 
beauty.  Long  ago  he  had  admired  Baroness  von 
Lyndal  as  passionately  as  it  was  in  him  to  admire  any 
woman;  but  that  day  was  so  far  distant  as  to  be  re 
membered  with  scorn,  and  now,  such  power  as  she  had 
over  him  was  merely  to  excite  a  feeling  of  irritation. 

"I  seldom  trouble  myself  to  jest,"  he  answered. 

"  Ah,  one  knows  that  truly  great  men  are  born  with 
out  a  sense  of  humor;  those  who  have  it  are  never 
as  successful  in  life  as  those  without,"  smiled  the 
Baroness,  who  was  by  birth  a  Hungarian,  and  loved 
laughter  better  than  anything  else,  except  compli 
ments  upon  her  vanishing  beauty.  "How  stupid  of 
me  to  have  tried  your  patience.  'That  girl,'  as  you 
so  uncompromisingly  call  her,  has  two  claims  to  at- 
[130] 


THE  EMPEROR'S  BALL 
tention  at  court.  She  is  the  English  Miss  Helen 
Mowbray  whose  mother  has  come  to  Kronburg 
armed  with  sheaves  of  introductions  to  us  all.  She  is 
also  the  young  woman  of  whom  the  papers  are  full 
to-day,  for  it  is  she  who  saved  the  Emperor's  life." 

"  Indeed,"  said  the  Chancellor,  a  gray  gleam  in  his 
eye  as  he  watched  the  white  figure  floating  on  the  tide 
of  music,  in  the  arms  of  Leopold.  "  Indeed." 

"  I  thought  you  would  have  known,  for  you  know 
most  things  before  other  people  hear  of  them,"  went 
on  the  Baroness.  "  Lady  Mowbray  and  her  daughter 
are  stopping  at  the  Hohenlangenwald  Hotel.  That's 
the  mother  sitting  on  the  left  of  Princess  Neufried,  — 
the  pretty,  Dresden  china  person.  But  the  girl  is  a 
great  beauty." 

"  It's  generous  of  you  to  say  so,  Baroness,"  replied 
the  Chancellor.  "  I  didn't  see  the  young  lady's  face  at 
all  clearly  yesterday;  I  was  stationed  too  far  away; 
and  dress  makes  a  great  difference.  As  for  what  she 
did,"  went  on  the  old  man,  whose  coldness  to  women 
and  merciless  justice  to  both  sexes  alike  had  earned 
him  the  nickname  of  "Iron  Heart,"  "as  for  what 
she  did,  if  it  had  not  been  she  who  intervened  between 
the  Emperor  and  death,  it  would  have  been  the  fate 
[131] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
of  another  to  do  so.  It  was  a  fortunate  thing  for  the 
girl,  we  may  say,  that  it  happened  to  be  her  arm  which 
struck  up  the  weapon." 

"Or  she  wouldn't  be  here  to-night,  you  mean," 
laughed  the  Baroness.  "  Don't  you  think,  then,  that  his 
Majesty  is  right  to  single  her  out  for  so  much  honor  ?  " 
Her  eyes  were  on  the  dancers;  yet  that  mysterious 
skill  which  most  women  of  the  world  have  learned, 
taught  her  how  not  to  miss  the  slightest  change  of  ex 
pression,  if  there  were  any,  on  the  Chancellor's 
square,  lined  face. 

"His  Majesty  is  always  right,"  he  replied  diplo 
matically.  "An  invitation  to  a  ball;  a  dance  or  two; 
a  few  compliments ;  a  call  to  pay  his  respects ;  a  gentle 
man  could  not  be  less  gracious.  And  his  Majesty  is 
one  of  the  first  gentlemen  in  Europe." 

"He  has  had  good  training,  what  to  do  and  what 
not  to  do."  The  Baroness  flung  her  little  sop  of  flat 
tery  to  Cerberus  with  a  dainty  ghost  of  a  bow  for  the 
man  who  had  been  as  a  second  father  to  Leopold 
since  the  late  Emperor's  death.  "But  —  we're  old 
friends,  Chancellor,"  (she  was  not  to  blame  that  they 
had  not  been  more  in  the  days  before  she  became 
Baroness  von  Lyndal),  "so  tell  me;  can  you  look  at 
[132] 


THE    EMPEROR'S    BALL 

the  girl's  face  and  the  Emperor's,  and  still  say  that 
everything  will  end  with  an  invitation,  a  dance,  some 
compliments,  and  a  call  to  pay  respects  ? " 

Iron  Heart  frowned  and  sneered,  wondering  what 
he  could  have  seen,  twenty-two  years  ago,  to  admire 
in  this  flighty  woman.  He  would  have  escaped  from 
her  now,  if  escape  had  been  feasible ;  but  he  could  not 
be  openly  rude  to  the  wife  of  the  Grand  Master  of 
Ceremonies,  at  the  Emperor's  ball.  And  besides,  he 
was  not  unwilling,  perhaps,  to  show  the  lady  that  her 
sentimental  and  unsuitable  innuendos  were  as  the 
buzzing  of  a  fly  about  his  ears. 

"  I'm  close  upon  seventy,  and  no  longer  a  fair  judge 
of  a  woman's  attractions,"  he  returned  carelessly. 
"  A  look  at  her  face  conveys  nothing  to  me.  But,  were 
she  Helen  of  Troy  instead  of  Helen  Mowbray,  the 
invitation,  the  dance,  the  compliments,  and  the  call 
—  with  the  present  of  some  jeweled  souvenir  —  are 
all  that  are  permissible  in  the  circumstances." 

"  What  circumstances  ?  "  and  the  Baroness  looked 
as  innocent  as  an  inquiring  child. 

"  The  lady  is  not  of  Royal  blood.  And  his  Majesty, 
I  thank  Heaven,  is  not  a  roue." 

"He  has  a  heart,  though  you  trained  him,  Chan- 
[133] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
cellor;  and  he  has  eyes.  He  may  never  have  used  them 
to  much  purpose  before,  yet  there  must  be  a  first  time. 
And  the  higher  and  more  strongly  built  the  tower, 
once  it  begins  to  topple,  the  greater  is  the  fall 
thereof." 

"  Is  it  the  sense  of  humor,  which  you  say  I  lack, 
that  gives  you  pleasure  in  discussing  the  wildest  im 
probabilities,  as  if  they  were  events  to  be  considered 
seriously  ?  If  it  is,  I'm  not  sorry  to  lack  it.  In  any  case, 
it's  as  well  that  neither  you  nor  I  is  the  Emperor's 
keeper." 

"  We're  at  least  his  very  good  friends,  I  as  well  as 
you,  in  my  humbler  way,  Chancellor.  And  you  and  I 
have  known  each  other  for  twenty-two  years.  If  it 
amuses  me  to  discuss  improbabilities,  why  not  ?  Since 
you  call  them  improbabilities,  it  can  do  no  harm  to 
dwell  upon  them  as  ingredients  for  romance.  Not  for 
worlds  would  I  suggest  that  his  Majesty  isn't  an  ex 
ample  for  all  men  to  follow,  nor  that  poor,  pretty 
Miss  Mowbray  could  be  tempted  to  indiscretion.  But 
yet  I'd  be  ready  to  make  a  wager  —  the  Emperor 
being  human,  and  the  girl  a  beauty  —  that  an  ac 
quaintance  so  romantically  begun  won't  end  with  a 

ball  and  a  call." 

[134] 


THE    EMPEROR'S    BALL 

"What  could  there  possibly  be  more  —  or  what 
you  hint  at  as  more  —  in  honor  ?  " 

The  Chancellor's  voice  was  angry  at  last,  as  well  as 
stern,  for  he  could  not  bear  persistence  —  in  other 
people  —  unless  it  were  to  further  some  cause  of  his 
own.  To  the  delight  of  the  woman  who  had  once  tried 
in  vain  to  melt  his  iron  heart,  Count  von  Breitstein 
began  to  look  somewhat  like  a  baited  bull.  Really, 
said  the  Baroness  to  herself,  there  was  an  actual  re 
semblance  in  feature;  and  joyously  she  searched  for  a 
few  more  little  ribbon-tipped  banderillos. 

What  fun  it  was  to  ruffle  the  temper  of  the  surly 
old  brute  who  had  humiliated  her  woman's  vanity  in 
days  long  past,  but  not  forgotten !  She  knew  the  Chan 
cellor's  desire  for  the  Emperor's  marriage  as  soon  as 
a  suitable  match  could  be  found ;  and  though  she  was 
not  in  the  secret  of  his  plans,  would  have  felt  little 
surprise  at  learning  that  some  eligible  Royal  girl  had 
already  been  selected.  Now,  how  amusing  it  would 
be  actually  to  make  the  old  man  tremble  for  the  suc 
cess  of  his  hopes,  even  if  it  should  turn  out  in  the  end 
to  be  impossible  or  undesirable  to  upset  them ! 

"  What  could  there  be  more  —  in  honor  ? "  she 
echoed  lightly  after  an  instant  given  to  reflection. 
[135] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

"  Why,  the  Emperor  and  the  girl  will  see  a  great  deal 
of  each  other,  unless  you  banish  or  imprison  the  Mow- 
brays.  There'll  be  many  dances  together,  many  calls ; 
in  fact,  a  serial  romance  instead  of  a  short  story.  Why 
shouldn't  his  Majesty  know  the  pleasure  of  a  —  pla- 
tonic  friendship  with  a  beautiful  and  charming  young 
woman  ?  " 

"  Because  Plato's  out  of  fashion,  if  ever  he  was  in, 
among  human  beings  with  red  blood  in  their  veins ; 
and  because,  as  I  said,  the  Emperor  is  above  all  else 
a  man  of  honor.  Besides,  I  doubt  that  any  woman, 
no  matter  how  pretty  or  young,  could  wield  a  really 
powerful  influence  over  his  life." 

"  You  doubt  that  ?  Then  you  don't  know  the  Em 
peror;  and  you've  forgotten  some  of  the  traditions  of 
his  house." 

"  Are  you  trying  to  warn  me  of  disaster,  Baroness  ?  " 

She  laughed.  "  Oh,  dear  no.  Of  nothing  disagree 
able.  But  I  should  be  sorry  to  think,  as  you  seem  to 
do,  that  our  Emperor  has  no  youth  in  his  veins." 

"  I  think  nothing  of  the  sort.  What  I  do  think  is 

that  my  teachings  have  not  been  in  vain,  and  that  he 

has  grown  up  to  put  his  duty  to  his  country  and  his 

own  self-respect  above  everything.  He's  a  strong  man 

[136] 


THE    EMPEROR'S    BALL 

—  too  strong  to  be  trapped  in  the  meshes  of  any  pink 
and  white  Vivien.  And  if  he  admired  a  young  woman 
not  of  Royal  blood,  he  would  keep  his  distance  for 
her  sake.  You  say  this  English  miss  is  with  her  mother 
at  the  principal  hotel  of  Kronburg.  If  Leopold  con 
stantly  visited  them  there  we  should  have  a  scandal. 
On  the  other  hand,  to  suggest  meeting  the  girl  outside, 
or  incognito,  would  be  an  insult.  Either  way  he  would 
be  but  poorly  rewarding  a  woman  who  saved  his 
life." 

Baroness  von  LyndaFs  color  rallied  to  the  support 
of  her  rouge,  and  her  smile  dwindled  to  inanity,  for 
she  had  insisted  upon  the  argument,  and  it  was 
going  against  her. 

In  her  haste  to  vex  the  Chancellor,  she  had  not 
stopped  to  study  from  every  side  the  question  she  had 
raised.  So  far,  she  had  merely  succeeded  in  irritat 
ing  him,  and  she  owed  him  much  more  than  a  pin 
prick.  Such  infinitesimal  wounds  she  had  contrived 
to  give  the  man  in  abundance,  during  her  twenty- 
two  years  at  the  Rhaetian  Court;  but  now,  if  she  hurt 
him  at  all,  she  would  like  the  stab  to  be  deep  and 
memorable. 

To  be  sure,  in  beginning  the  conversation,  she  had 
[137] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

thought  of  nothing  more  than  a  momentary  gratifica 
tion,  but  the  very  heat  of  the  argument  into  which 
she  had  thrown  herself  had  warmed  her  malice,  and 
sharpened  the  weapon  of  her  wit.  She  could  justify 
her  expressed  opinion  only  by  events,  and  it  occurred 
to  her  that  she  might  be  able  to  shape  events  in  such  a 
way  that  she  could  say  with  eyes,  if  not  in  words,  "  I 
told  you  so." 

Her  fading  smile  brightened.  "Dear  Chancellor, 
you  do  well  to  have  faith  in  your  Imperial  pupil," 
said  she.  "You've  helped  to  make  him  what  he  is, 
and  you're  ready  to  keep  him  what  he  should  be.  I 
suppose,  even,  that  if,  being  but  a  young  man  and 
having  the  hot  blood  of  his  race,  he  should  stray  into 
a  primrose  path,  you  would  take  advantage  of  old 
friendship  to  —  er  —  put  up  sign-posts  and  barriers  ?  " 

"Were  there  the  slightest  chance  of  such  neces 
sity  arising,"  grumbled  the  Chancellor,  shrugging  his 
shoulders. 

"  It's  like  your  integrity  and  courage.  What  a  com 
fort,  then,  that  the  necessity  is  so  unlikely  to  arise." 

The  old  man  looked  at  her  with  level  gaze,  the 
ruthless  look  that  brushes  away  a  woman's  paint  and 
powder,  and  coldly  counts  the  wrinkles  underneath. 
[138] 


THE    EMPEROR'S    BALL 
"I  must  have  misunderstood  you  then,  a  moment 
ago,"  he  said.  "I  thought  your  argument  was  all  the 
other  way  round,  madam  ?  " 

"I  told  you  I  was  amusing  myself.  What  can  one 
do  at  a  ball,  when  one  has  reached  the  age  when  it 
would  be  foolish  to  dance  ?  Why,  I  believe  that  Lady 
Mowbray  and  her  daughter  are  not  remaining  long 
in  Kronburg." 

At  last  she  was  able  to  judge  that  she  had  given 
the  Chancellor  a  few  uneasy  moments,  for  his  eyes 
brightened  visibly  with  relief.  "Ah,"  he  returned, 
"  then  they  are  going  out  of  Rhaetia  ? " 

"Not  exactly  that,"  said  the  Baroness,  slowly, 
pleasantly,  and  distinctly.  "  I  hear  that  they've  been 
asked  to  the  country  to  visit  one  of  his  Majesty's 
oldest  friends." 

Leopold  was  not  supposed  to  care  for  dancing, 
though  he  danced  —  as  it  was  his  pride  to  do  all 
things  —  well.  Certainly  there  was  often  a  perfunc- 
toriness  about  his  manner  in  a  ball-room,  a  suggestion 
of  the  soldier  on  duty  in  his  unsmiling  face,  and  his 
readiness  to  lead  a  partner  to  her  seat  when  a  dance 
was  over. 

[139] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
But  to-night  a  new  Leopold  moved  to  the  music. 
A  girl's  white  arm  on  his  —  that  slender  arm  which 
had  been  quick  and  firm  as  a  man's  in  his  defense; 
the  perfume  of  a  girl's  hair,  and  the  gold  glints  upon 
it;  the  shadow  of  a  girl's  dark  lashes,  and  the  light  in 
a  pair  of  gray  eyes  when  they  were  lifted;  the  beating 
of  a  girl's  heart  near  him;  the  springtime  grace  of  a 
girl's  sweet  youth  in  its  contrast  with  the  voluptuous 
summer  of  Rhaetian  types  of  beauty;  the  warm  rose 
that  spread  upwards  from  a  girl's  childlike  dimples 
to  the  womanly  arch  of  her  brows;  all  these  charms 
and  more  which  rendered  one  girl  a  hundred  times 
adorable,  took  hold  of  him,  and  made  him  not  an 
Emperor,  but  a  man,  unarmored. 

When  the  music  ceased,  he  fancied  for  an  instant 
that  some  accident  had  befallen  the  musicians.  Then, 
when  he  realized  that  the  end  of  the  dance  had  come 
in  its  due  time,  he  remembered  with  pleasure  a  rule 
of  his  court,  established  in  the  days  of  those  who  had 
been  before  him.  After  each  dance  an  interval  of  ten 
minutes  was  allowed  before  the  beginning  of  another. 
Ten  minutes  are  not  much  to  a  man  who  has  things 
to  say  which  could  hardly  be  said  in  ten  hours;  still, 
they  are  something;  and  to  waste  even  one  would  be 
[140] 


THE    EMPEROR'S    BALL 

like  spilling  a  drop  of  precious  elixir  from  a  tiny  bottle 
containing  but  nine  other  drops. 

They  had  scarcely  spoken  yet,  except  for  com 
monplaces  which  any  one  might  have  overheard,  since 
the  day  on  the  mountain;  and  in  this  first  moment 
of  the  ten,  each  was  wondering  whether  or  no  that 
day  should  be  ignored  between  them.  Leopold  did 
not  feel  that  it  should  be  spoken  of,  for  it  was  possible 
that  the  girl  did  not  recognize  the  chamois  hunter  in 
the  Emperor;  and  Virginia  did  not  feel  that  she  could 
speak  of  it.  But  then,  few  things  turn  out  as  people 
feel  they  should. 

Next  to  the  throne  room  was  the  ball-room;  and 
beyond  was  another  known  as  the  "  Waldsaal,"  which 
Leopold  had  fitted  up  for  the  gratification  of  a  fancy. 
It  was  named  the  "Waldsaal"  because  it  represented 
a  wood.  Walls  and  ceiling  were  masked  with  thick- 
growing  creepers  trained  over  invisible  wires,  through 
which  peeped  stars  of  electric  light,  like  the  chequer- 
ings  of  sunshine  between  netted  branches.  Trees 
grew  up,  with  their  roots  in  boxes  hidden  beneath 
the  moss-covered  floor.  There  were  grottoes  of  ivy- 
draped  rock  in  the  corners,  and  here  and  there  out 
from  leafy  shadows  glittered  the  glass  eyes  of  birds 
[141] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
and  animals  —  eagles,  stags,  chamois,  wolves  and 
bears  —  which  the  Emperor  had  shot. 

This  strange  room,  so  vast  as  to  seem  empty  when 
dozens  of  people  wandered  beneath  its  trees  and 
among  its  rock  grottoes,  was  thrown  open  to  guests 
whenever  a  ball  was  given  at  the  palace ;  but  the  con 
servatories  and  palm  houses  were  more  popular;  and 
when  Leopold  brought  Miss  Mowbray  to  the  Wald- 
saal  after  their  dance,  it  was  in  the  hope  that  they 
might  not  be  disturbed. 

She  was  lovelier  than  ever  in  her  white  dress,  under 
the  trees,  looking  up  at  him  with  a  wonderful  look 
in  her  eyes,  and  the  young  man's  calmness  was  mas 
tered  by  the  beating  of  his  blood. 

"This  is  a  kind  of  madness,"  he  said  to  himself. 
"It  will  pass.  It  must  pass."  And  aloud,  —  meaning 
all  the  while  to  say  something  different  and  common 
place,  —  the  real  words  in  his  mind  broke  through 
the  crust  of  conventionality.  "  Why  did  you  do  it  ?  " 

Virginia's  eyes  widened.  "I  don't  understand." 
Then,  in  an  instant,  she  found  that  she  did  under 
stand.  She  knew,  too,  that  the  question  had  asked 
itself  in  spite  of  him,  but  that  once  it  had  been  uttered 
he  would  stand  to  his  guns. 
[142] 


THE    EMPEROR'S    BALL 

"I  mean  the  thing  I  shall  have  to  thank  you  for 
always." 

If  Virginia  had  had  time  to  think,  she  might  have 
prepared  some  pretty  answer;  but,  there  being  no 
time,  her  response  came  as  his  question  had,  from  the 
heart.  "I  couldn't  help  doing  it." 

"  You  couldn't  help  risking  your  life  to  —  "  He 
dared  not  finish. 

"  It  was  to  save  —  "  Nor  was  there  any  end  for  her 
sentence. 

Then  perhaps  it  was  not  strange  that  he  forgot 
certain  restrictions  which  a  Royal  man,  in  conversing 
with  a  commoner,  is  not  supposed  to  forget.  In  fact, 
he  forgot  that  he  was  Royal,  or  that  she  was  not,  and 
his  voice  grew  unsteady,  his  tone  eager,  as  if  he  had 
been  some  poor  subaltern  with  the  girl  of  his  first  love. 

"There's  something  I  must  show  you,"  he  said. 
Opening  a  button  of  the  military  coat  blazing  with 
jewels  and  orders,  he  drew  out  a  loop  of  thin  gold 
chain.  At  the  end  dangled  a  small,  bright  thing  that 
flashed  under  a  star  of  electric  light. 

"  My  ring ! "  breathed  Virginia. 

Thus  died  the  Emperor's  intention  to  ignore  the 
day  that  had  been  theirs  together. 
[143] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

"  Your  ring !  You  gave  it  to  Leo.  He  kept  it.  He  will 
always  keep  it.  Have  I  surprised  you  ?  " 

Virginia  felt  it  would  be  best  to  say  "  yes, "  but 
instead  she  answered  "  no  " ;  for  pretty,  white  fibs  can 
not  be  told  under  such  a  look  in  a  man's  eyes,  by  a 
girl  who  loves  him. 

"  I  have  not  ?  When  did  you  guess  the  truth  ?  Yes 
terday,  or  — 

"AtAlleheiligen." 

Silence  fell  for  a  minute,  while  Leopold  digested 
the  answer,  and  its  full  meaning.  He  remembered  the 
bread  and  ham ;  the  cow  he  could  not  milk ;  the  ruck 
sacks  he  had  carried.  He  remembered  everything  — 
and  laughed. 

"  You  knew,  at  Alleheiligen  ?  Not  on  the  mountain, 
when—" 

"  Yes.  I  guessed  even  then,  I  confess.  Oh,  I  don't 
mean  that  I  went  there  expecting  to  find  you.  I  didn't. 
I  think  I  shouldn't  have  gone,  had  I  known.  Every 
one  believed  you  were  at  Melinabad.  But  when  I 
tumbled  down  and  you  saved  me,  I  looked  up,  and  - 
of  course  I'd  seen  your  picture,  and  one  reads  in  the 
papers  that  you're  fond  of  chamois  hunting.  I  couldn't 
help  guessing  —  oh,  I'm  sorry  you  asked  me  this  ! " 
[144] 


THE    EMPEROR'S    BALL 

"Why?" 

,     "  Because  —  one  might  have  to  be  afraid  of  an 
Emperor  if  he  were  angry." 

"Do  I  look  angry?" 

Their  eyes  met  again,  laughing  at  first,  then  each 
finding  unexpected  depths  in  those  of  the  other  which 
drove  away  laughter.  Something  in  Leopold's  breast 
seemed  alive  and  struggling  to  be  free  from  restraint, 
like  a  fierce,  wild  bird.  He  shut  his  lips  tightly, 
breathing  hard.  Both  forgot  that  a  question  had 
been  asked;  but  it  was  Virginia  who  spoke  first, 
since  it  is  easier  for  a  woman  than  a  man  to  hide 
feeling. 

"  I  wonder  why  you  kept  the  ring  after  my  —  imper 
tinence." 

"  I  had  a  good  reason  for  keeping  it." 

"  Won't  you  tell  me  ?  " 

"  You're  quick  at  forming  conclusions,  Miss  Mow- 
bray.  Can't  you  guess  ?  " 

"  To  remind  you  to  beware  of  strange  young  women 
on  mountains." 

"No." 

"  Because  your  own  picture  is  inside  ?  " 

"  It  was  a  better  reason  than  that." 
[145] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

"Am  I  not  to  ask  it?" 

"  On  that  day,  you  asked  what  you  chose.  All  the 
more  should  you  do  so  now,  since  there's  nothing  I 
could  refuse  you." 

"  Not  the  half  of  your  Kingdom  —  like  the  Royal 
men  in  fairy  stories  ?  " 

As  soon  as  the  words  were  out  Virginia  would  have 
given  much  to  have  them  back.  She  had  not  thought 
of  a  meaning  they  might  convey;  but  she  tried  not  to 
blush,  lest  he  should  think  of  it  now.  Nevertheless  he 
did  think  of  it,  and  the  light  words,  striking  a  chord 
they  had  not  aimed  to  touch,  went  echoing  on  and  on, 
till  they  reached  that  part  of  himself  which  the  Em 
peror  knew  least  about  —  his  heart. 

"  Half  his  Kingdom  ?  "  Yes,  he  would  give  it  to  this 
girl,  if  he  could.  Heavens,  what  it  would  be  to  share  it 
with  her ! 

"Ask  anything  you  will,"  he  said,  as  a  man  speaks 
in  a  dream. 

"  Then  tell  me  —  why  you  kept  the  ring. " 

"  Because  the  only  woman  I  ever  cared  —  to  make 
my  friend,  took  it  from  her  finger  and  gave  it  to  me." 

"  Now  the  Emperor  is  pleased  to  pay  compliments." 

"You  know  I  am  sincere." 
[146] 


THE    EMPEROR'S    BALL 

"But  you'd  seen  me  only  for  an  hour.  Instead  of 
deserving  your  friendship,  I'm  afraid  I  —  " 

"  For  one  hour  ?  That's  true.  And  how  long  ago  is 
that  one  hour?  A  week  or  so,  I  suppose,  as  Time 
counts.  But  then  came  yesterday,  and  the  thing  you 
did  for  me.  Now,  I've  known  you  always." 

"If  you  had,  perhaps  you  wouldn't  want  me  for 
your  friend." 

"I  do  want  you." 

The  words  would  come.  It  was  true  —  already. 
He  did  want  her.  But  not  as  a  friend.  His  world,  —  a 
world  without  women,  without  passion  fiery  enough 
to  devour  principles  or  traditions,  was  upside  down. 

It  was  well  that  the  ten  minutes'  grace  between 
dances  was  over,  and  the  music  for  the  next  about  to 
begin.  A  young  officer,  Count  von  Breitstein's  half- 
brother  —  who  was  to  be  Miss  Mowbray's  partner  — 
appeared  in  the  distance,  looking  for  her;  but  stopped, 
seeing  that  she  was  still  with  the  Emperor. 

"  Good-by,"  said  Virginia,  while  her  words  could 
still  be  only  for  the  ears  of  Leopold. 

"Not  good-by.  We're  friends." 

"Yes.  But  we  sha'n't  meet  often." 

"  Why  ?  Are  you  leaving  Kronburg  ?  " 
1 147 1 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
"Perhaps  —  soon.  I  don't  know." 
"I  must  see  you  again.  I  will  see  you  once  more, 
whatever  comes." 

"  Once  more,  perhaps.  I  hope  so,  but  —  " 
"  After  that—  " 
"Who  knows?" 

"Once  more  — once  more!"  The  words  echoed 
in  Virginia's  ears.  She  heard  them  through  everything, 
as  one  hears  the  undertone  of  a  mountain  torrent, 
though  a  brass  band  may  bray  to  drown  its  deep 
music. 

Once  more  he  would  see  her,  whatever  might  come. 
She  could  guess  why  it  might  be  only  once,  though 
he  would  fain  have  that  once  again  and  again  re 
peated.  For  this  game  of  hers,  begun  with  such  a  light 
heart,  was  more  difficult  to  play  than  she  had  dreamed. 

If  she  could  but  be  sure  he  cared ;  if  he  would  tell 
her  so,  in  words,  and  not  with  eyes  alone,  the  rest 
might  be  easy,  although  at  best  she  could  not  see  the 
end.  Yet  how,  in  honor,  could  he  tell  Miss  Helen 
Mowbray  that  he  cared  ?  And  if  the  telling  were  not 
to  be  in  honor,  how  could  she  bear  to  live  her  life  ? 

"  Once  more ! "  What  would  happen  in  that "  once 
[148] 


THE    EMPEROR'S    BALL 

more  ?  "  Perhaps  nothing  save  a  repetition  of  grateful 
thanks,  and  courteous  words  akin  to  a  farewell. 

To  be  sure  Lady  Mowbray  and  her  daughter  might 
run  away,  and  the  negotiations  between  the  Em 
peror's  advisers  and  the  Grand  Duchess  of  Baumen- 
burg-Drippe  for  the  Princess  Virginia's  hand  might 
be  allowed  to  go  on,  as  if  no  outside  influence  had 
ruffled  the  peaceful  current  of  events.  Then,  in  the 
end,  a  surprise  would  come  for  Leopold;  wilful  Vir 
ginia  would  have  played  her  little  comedy,  and  all 
might  be  said  to  end  well.  But  Virginia's  heart  re 
fused  to  be  satisfied  with  so  tame  a  last  chapter,  a 
finish  to  her  romance  so  conventional  as  to  be  distaste 
fully  obvious,  almost  if  not  quite  a  failure. 

She  had  begun  to  drink  a  sweet  and  stimulating 
draught  —  she  who  had  been  brought  up  on  milk  and 
water  —  and  she  was  reluctant  to  put  down  the  cup, 
still  half  full  of  sparkling  nectar. 

"Once  more!"  If  only  that  once  could  be  mag 
nified  into  many  times.  If  she  could  have  her  chance 
—  her  "  fling, "  like  the  lucky  girls  who  were  not 
Royal ! 

So  she  was  thinking  in  the  carriage  by  her  mother's 
side,  and  the  Grand  Duchess  had  to  speak  twice,  be- 
[149] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
fore  her  daughter  knew  their  silence  had  been  broken. 

"I  forgot  to  tell  you  something,  Virginia." 

"Ye-es,  Mother?" 

"  Your  great  success  has  made  me  absent-minded, 
child.  You  looked  like  a  shining  white  lily  among 
all  those  handsome,  overblown  Rhaetian  women." 

"Thank  you,  dear.  Was  that  what  you  forgot  to 
say?" 

"Oh  no!  It  was  this.  The  Baroness  von  Lyndal 
has  been  most  kind.  She  urges  us  to  give  up  our 
rooms  at  the  hotel,  on  the  first  of  next  week,  and  join 
her  house  party  at  Schloss  Lyndalberg.  It's  only  a 
few  miles  out  of  town.  What  do  you  think  of  the 
plan?" 

"  Leave  —  Kronburg  ?  " 

"  She's  asked  a  number  of  friends  —  to  meet  the 
Emperor." 

"Oh!  He  didn't  speak  of  it  — when  we  danced." 

"  But  she  has  mentioned  it  to  him  since,  no  doubt, 
—  before  giving  me  the  invitation.  Intimate  friend 
of  his  as  she  is,  she  wouldn't  dare  ask  people  to  meet 
him,  if  he  hadn't  first  sanctioned  the  suggestion. 
Still,  she  can  afford  to  be  more  or  less  informal.  The 
Baroness  was  dancing  with  the  Emperor,  I  remember 
[150] 


THE    EMPEROR'S    BALL 

now,  just  before  she  came  to  me.  They  were  talking 
together  quite  earnestly.  I  can  recall  the  expression 
of  his  face." 

"  Was  it  pleased,  or  - 

"  I  was  wondering  what  she  could  have  said  to  make 
him  look  so  happy.  Perhaps  — 

"  What  answer  did  you  give  Baroness  von  Lyndal  ?" 

"  I  told  her  —  I  thought  you  wouldn't  mind  —  I 
told  her  we  would  go." 


[151] 


CHAPTER  IX 
IRON  HEART  AT  HOME 

SCHLOSS  LYNDALBERG  towers  high  on 
a  promontory,  overlooking  a  lake,  seven  or 
eight  miles  to  the  south  of  the  Rhaetian  capital. 
The  castle  is  comparatively  modern,  with  pointed 
turrets  and  fretted  minarets,  and,  being  built  of 
white,  Carrara  marble,  throws  a  reflection  snowy  as 
a  submerged  swan,  into  the  clear  green  water  of  the 
Mommelsee.  All  the  surroundings  of  the  palace, 
from  its  broad  terraces  to  its  jeweled  fountains  and 
well-nigh  tropical  gardens,  suggest  luxury,  gaiety, 
pleasure. 

But,  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Mommelsee  is 
huddled  the  dark  shape  of  an  ancient  fortified  strong 
hold^  begun  no  one  remembers  how  many  centuries 
ago  by  the  first  Count  von  Breitstein.  Generation 
following  generation,  the  men  of  that  family  com 
pleted  the  work,  until  nowadays  it  is  difficult  to 
[152] 


IRON  HEART  AT  HOME 
know  where  the  rock  ends,  and  the  castle  begins. 
There,  like  a  dragon  squatting  on  the  coils  of  its  own 
tail,  the  dark  mass  is  poised,  its  deep-set  window- 
eyes  glaring  across  the  bright  water  at  the  white 
splendor  of  Lyndalberg,  like  the  malevolent  stare 
of  the  monster  waiting  to  spring  upon  and  devour 
a  fair  young  maiden. 

The  moods  of  Baroness  von  Lyndal  concerning 
grim  old  Schloss  Breitstein  had  varied  many  times 
during  her  years  of  residence  by  the  lake.  Sometimes 
she  pleased  herself  by  reflecting  that  the  great  man 
who  had  slighted  her  lived  in  less  luxury  than  she  had 
attained  by  her  excellent  marriage.  Again,  the  thought 
of  the  ancient  lineage  of  the  present  Count  von  Breit 
stein  filled  her  with  envy;  and  oftener  than  all,  the 
feeling  that  the  "  old  grizzly  bear  "  could  crouch  in  his 
den  and  watch  sneeringly  everything  which  happened 
at  Lyndalberg  got  upon  the  lady's  nerves.  She  could 
have  screamed  and  shaken  her  fist  at  the  dark  mass 
of  rock  and  stone  across  the  water.  But  after  the 
birthday  ball  and  during  the  first  days  of  Leopold's 
visit  at  her  house,  she  often  threw  a  whimsical 
glance  at  the  grim  silhouette  against  the  northern  sky, 
and  smiled. 

[153] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

"  Can  you  see,  old  bear  ?  "  she  would  ask,  gayly. 
"  Are  you  spying  over  there  ?  Do  you  think  yourself 
all-wise  and  all-powerful  ?  Do  you  see  what's  in  my 
mind  now,  and  do  you  guess  partly  why  I've  taken 
all  this  trouble  ?  Are  you  racking  your  brain  for  some 
way  of  spoiling  my  little  plans  ?  But  you  can't  do  it, 
you  know.  It's  too  late.  There's  nothing  you  can  do, 
except  sit  still  and  growl,  and  glare  at  your  own 
claws  —  which  a  woman  has  clipped.  How  do  you  like 
the  outlook,  old  bear?  Do  you  lie  awake  at  night 
and  study  how  to  save  your  scheme  for  the  Emperor's 
marriage  ?  All  your  grumpy  old  life  you've 
despised  women;  but  now  you're  beginning  at 
last  to  find  out  that  powerful  as  you  are,  there 
are  some  things  a  woman  with  tact  and  money, 
nice  houses  and  a  good-natured  husband  can  do, 
which  the  highest  statesman  in  the  land  can't  undo. 
How  soon  shall  I  make  you  admit  that,  Chan 
cellor  Bear?" 

Thus  the  Baroness,  standing  at  her  drawing-room 
window,  would  amuse  herself  in  odd  moments,  when 
she  was  not  arranging  original  and  elaborate  enter 
tainments  for  her  guests.  And  she  congratulated  her 
self  particularly  on  having  had  the  forethought  to  in- 
[154] 


IRON    HEART    AT     HOME 
vite    Egon    von    Breitstein,  the    Chancellor's    half- 
brother. 

There  was  a  barrier  of  thirty-six  years'  difference 
in  age  between  the  two,  and  they  had  never  been 
friends  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word,  for  the  old 
man  was  temperamentally  unable  to  sympathize  with 
the  tastes,  or  understand  the  temptations  of  the 
younger  brother,  and  the  younger  man  was  mentally 
unable  to  appreciate  the  qualities  of  the  elder. 

Nevertheless  it  was  rumored  at  court  that  Iron 
Heart  had  more  than  once  used  the  gay  and  good- 
looking  Captain  of  Cavalry  for  a  catspaw  in  pulling 
some  very  big  and  hot  chestnuts  out  of  the  fire.  At  all 
events  "  Handsome  Egon,"  so  known  among  his  fol 
lowers,  "the  Chancellor's  Jackal"  (thus  nicknamed 
by  his  enemies)  would  have  found  difficulty  in  keeping 
up  appearances  without  the  allowance  granted  by  his 
powerful  half-brother.  The  ill-assorted  pair  were  often 
in  communication,  and  the  Baroness  liked  to  think 
that  news  fresh  from  Lyndalberg  must  sooner  or 
later  be  wafted  like  a  wind-blown  scent  of  roses  across 
the  water  to  Schloss  Breitstein. 

She  was  still  less  displeased  than  surprised,  there 
fore,  when  —  the  Emperor  having  been  three  days 
[155] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
at  Lyndalberg,  with  two  more  days  of  his  visit  to  run 
—  an  urgent  message  arrived  for  Captain  von  Breit- 
stein  from  his  brother. 

Poor  old  Lorenz  was  wrestling  with  his  enemy  gout, 
it  appeared,  and  wished  for  Egon's  immediate  pres 
ence. 

Such  a  summons  could  not  be  neglected.  Egon's 
whole  future  depended  upon  his  half-brother's  ca 
price,  he  hinted  to  the  Baroness  in  asking  leave  to 
desert  her  pleasant  party  for  a  few  hours.  So  of  course 
she  sent  the  Chancellor  her  regrets,  with  the  Baron's; 
and  Egon  went  off  charged  with  a  friendly  message 
from  the  Emperor  as  well. 

When  the  Captain  of  Cavalry  had  set  out  from 
Lyndalberg  to  Schloss  Breitstein  by  the  shortest 
way  —  across  the  lake  in  a  smart  little  motor-boat  — 
promising  to  be  back  in  time  for  dinner  and  a  concert, 
the  Baroness  spent  all  her  energy  in  getting  up  an 
impromptu  riding-party,  which  would  give  Leopold 
the  chance  of  another  tete-a-tete  with  Miss  Mow- 
bray. 

Already  many  such  chances  had  been  arranged, 
so  cleverly  as  not  to  excite  gossip;  and  if  the  flirtation 
(destined  by  the  hostess  to  disgust  Leopold  with  his 
[156] 


IRON    HEART    AT    HOME 

Chancellor  s  matrimonial  projects)  did  not  advance 
by  leaps  and  bounds,  it  was  certainly  not  the  fault  of 
Baroness  von  Lyndal. 

"  Egon  has  been  told  to  use  his  eyes  and  ears  for  all 
they're  worth  at  Lyndalberg,  and  now  he's  called 
upon  to  hand  in  his  first  report,"  she  said  to  herself, 
when  the  younger  von  Breitstein  was  off  on  his 
mission  across  the  lake. 

But  for  once,  at  least,  the  "  Chancellor's  Jackal " 
was  wronged  by  unjust  suspicion.  He  arrived  at 
Schloss  Breitstein  ignorant  of  his  brother's  motive  in 
sending  for  him,  though  he  shrewdly  suspected  it  to 
be  something  quite  different  from  the  one  alleged. 

The  Chancellor  was  in  his  study,  a  deep  windowed, 
tower  room,  with  walls  book-lined  nearly  to  the  cross- 
beamed  ceiling.  He  sat  reading  a  budget  of  letters 
when  Egon  was  announced,  and  if  he  were  really  ill, 
he  did  not  betray  his  suffering.  The  square  face, 
with  its  beetling  brows,  eyes  of  somber  fire,  and  fore 
head  impressive  as  a  cathedral  dome,  showed  no  new 
lines  graven  by  pain. 

"Sit  down,  Egon,"    he  said,  abruptly,  tearing  in 
half  an  envelope  stamped  with  the  head  of  Hungaria's 
King.  "I'll  be  ready  for  you  in  a  moment." 
[  157  ] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
The  young  man  took  the  least  uncomfortable  chair 
in  the  room,  which  from  his  point  of  view  was  to 
say  little  in  its  favor;  because  the  newest  piece  of 
furniture  there,  has  been  made  a  hundred  years  before 
the  world  understood  that  lounging  was  not  a  crime. 
Over  the  high,  stone  mantel  hung  a  shield,  so  brightly 
polished  as  to  fulfil  the  office  of  a  mirror,  and  from 
where  Egon  sat,  perforce  upright  and  rigid,  he  could 
see  himself  vignetted  in  reflection. 

He  admired  his  fresh  color,  which  was  like  a  girl's, 
pointed  the  waxed  ends  of  his  mustache  with  nervous, 
cigarette-stained  fingers,  and  thinking  of  many  agree 
able  things,  from  baccarat  to  roulette,  from  roulette 
to  races,  and  races  to  pretty  women,  he  wondered 
which  he  had  to  thank  for  this  summons  to  the 
Chancellor.  Unfortunately,  brother  Lorenz  knew 
everything;  one's  pleasant  peccadilloes  buzzed  to  his 
ears  like  flies;  there  was  little  hope  of  deceiving  him. 
Egon  sighed,  and  his  eyes  turned  mechanically 
from  his  own  visage  on  shining  steel,  to  the  letter  held 
in  an  old  hand  so  veined  that  it  reminded  the  young 
man  of  a  rock  netted  with  the  sprawling  roots  of 
ancient  trees.  He  had  just  time  to  recognize  the  writ 
ing  as  that  of  Adalbert,  Crown  Prince  of  Hungaria, 
[158] 


IRON    HEART    AT    HOME 
whom  he   knew  slightly,  when  keen  eyes  curtained 
with  furled  and  wrinkled  lids,  glanced  up  from  the 
letter. 

"It's  coming,"  thought  Egon.  "What  can  the  old 
chap  have  found  out  ? " 

But  to  his  surprise  the  Chancellor's  first  words  had 
no  connection  with  him  or  his  misdeeds. 

"So  our  Emperor  is  amusing  himself  at  Lyndal- 
berg?" 

Egon's  face  brightened.  He  could  be  cunning  in 
emergencies,  but  he  was  not  clever,  and  always  he 
felt  himself  at  a  disadvantage  with  the  old  statesman. 
Unless  he  had  a  special  favor  to  ask,  he  generally 
preferred  discussing  the  affairs  of  others  with  the 
Chancellor,  rather  than  allowing  attention  to  be 
attracted  to  his  own.  "  Oh  yes,"  he  answered,  bright 
ly.  "His  Majesty  is  amusing  himself  uncommonly 
well.  I  never  saw  him  in  as  brilliant  spirits.  But  you, 
dear  Lorenz.  Tell  me  about  yourself .  Is  your  gout — " 

"  The  devil  take  my  gout ! " 

Egon  started.  "A  good  thing  if  he  did,  provided  he 
left  you  behind,"  he  retorted,  meaning  exactly  the 
opposite,  as  he  often  did  when  trying  to  measure  wits 
with  the  Chancellor.  "  But  you  sent  for  me  — " 
[159] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

"  Don't  tell  me  you  supposed  I  sent  for  you  because 
I  wanted  consolation  or  condolence  ?  " 

"No-o,"  laughed  Egon,  uneasily.  "I  fancied  there 
was  some  other  more  pressing  reason.  But  I'm  bound 
in  common  courtesy  to  take  your  sincerity  for  granted 
until  you  undeceive  me." 

"Hang  common  courtesy  between  you  and  me," 
returned  the  Bear.  "I've  nothing  to  conceal.  I  sent 
for  you  to  tell  me  what  mischief  that  witch-cat 
Mechtilde  von  Lyndal  is  plotting.  You're  on  the  spot. 
Trust  you  for  seeing  everything  that  goes  on  —  the 
one  thing  I  would  trust  you  to  do." 

"Thanks,"  said  Egon. 

"Don't  thank  me  yet,  however  grateful  you  may 
be.  But  I  don't  mind  hinting  that  it  won't  be  the 
worse  for  you,  if  for  once  you've  used  those  fine  eyes 
of  yours  to  some  useful  purpose." 

Egon  was  genuinely  astonished  at  this  turn  of  the 
conversation,  as  he  had  been  carefully  arming  him 
self  against  a  personal  attack  from  any  one  of  several 
directions.  He  sat  pointing  the  sharp  ends  of  his 
mustache,  one  after  the  other,  and  trying  to  remember 
some  striking  incident  with  which  to  adorn  a  more  or 
less  accurate  narrative. 

[160] 


IRON    HEART    AT    HOME 

"  What  would  you  call  useful  ?  "  he  inquired  at  last. 

The  Chancellor  answered,  but  indirectly.  "  Has  the 
Emperor  been  playing  the  fool  at  Lyndalberg,  these 
last  few  days  ?  " 

"  Do  you  want  to  make  me  guilty  of  lese  Majeste?  " 
Egon  raised  his  eyebrows;  but  he  was  recovering 
presence  of  mind.  "If  by  playing  the  fool,  though, 
you  mean  falling  in  love,  why  then,  brother,  I  should 
say  he  had  done  little  else  during  the  three  days;  and 
perhaps  even  the  first  of  those  was  not  the  beginning." 

The  Chancellor  growled  out  a  word  which  he  would 
hardly  have  uttered  in  the  Imperial  presence,  par 
ticularly  in  the  connection  he  suggested.  "Let  me 
hear  exactly  what  has  been  going  on  from  day's  end 
to  day's  end,"  he  commanded. 

Egon  grew  thoughtful  once  more.  Clearly,  here 
was  the  explanation  of  the  summons.  He  was  to  be 
let  off  easily,  it  appeared;  but,  suspense  relieved,  he 
was  not  ready  to  be  satisfied  with  negative  blessings. 

"Are  you  sure  it  isn't  a  bit  like  telling  tales  out  of 
school  ?  "  he  objected. 

"  School-boys  —  with  empty  pockets  —  have  been 
known  to  do  that,"  said  the  Chancellor.  "But  per 
haps  your  pockets  aren't  empty  —  eh  ?  " 
[161] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

"They're  in  a  chronic  state  of  emptiness,"  groaned 
Egon. 

"On  the  fifteenth  day  of  October  your  quarterly 
allowance  will  be  paid,"  remarked  his  brother.  "I 
would  increase  the  instalment  by  the  amount  of  five 
thousand  gulden,  if  that  would  make  it  worth  your 
while  to  talk  —  and  forget  nothing  but  your  scruples." 

"  Oh,  you  know  I'm  always  delighted  to  please 
you!"  exclaimed  Egon.  "It's  only  natural,  living  the 
monotonous  life  you  do  when  you're  not  busy  with 
the  affairs  of  state,  that  you  should  like  to  hear  what 
goes  on  in  the  world  outside.  Of  course,  I'll  gladly  do 
my  best  as  a  raconteur." 

"  My  dear  young  man,  don't  lie,"  said  the  Chan 
cellor.  "The  habit  is  growing  on  you.  You  lie  even  to 
yourself.  By  and  by  you'll  believe  yourself,  and  then 
all  hope  for  your  soul  will  be  over.  What  I  want  to 
know  is;  how  far  the  Emperor  has  gone  in  his  in 
fatuation  for  this  English  girl.  I'm  not  afraid  to 
speak  plainly  to  you,  so  you  may  safely  —  and  profit 
ably  —  do  the  same  with  me.  In  the  first  place  I'll 
put  you  at  your  ease  by  making  a  humiliating  con 
fession.  The  other  night  the  woman  von  Lyndal 
tried  to  'draw  me,'  as  she  would  express  it,  on  this 
[162] 


IRON  HEART  AT  HOME 
subject,  and  I'm  bitterly  mortified  to  say  she  partly 
succeeded.  She  suggested  an  entanglement  between 
Leopold  and  the  girl.  I  replied  that  Leopold  wasn't 
the  man  to  pull  down  a  hornet's  nest  of  gossip  around 
the  ears  of  a  young  woman  who  had  saved  his  life. 
No  matter  what  his  inclinations  might  be,  I  insisted 
that  he  would  pay  her  no  repeated  visits.  This  thrust 
the  fair  Mechtilde  parried  —  as  if  repeating  a  mere 
rumor  —  by  saying  that  she  believed  the  girl  was  to 
stay  at  the  country  house  of  some  old  friend  of  the 
Emperor.  At  the  time,  I  attached  little  importance  to 
her  chatter,  believing  that  she  merely  wished  to  give 
me  a  spiteful  slap  or  two,  as  is  her  habit  when  she  has 
the  chance.  For  once,  though,  she  has  succeeded  in 
stealing  a  march  upon  me ;  and  she  kept  the  secret  of 
her  plan  until  too  late  for  me  to  have  any  hope  of 
preventing  Leopold  from  fulfilling  his  engagement  at 
her  house.  After  that  was  safely  arranged,  I  don't 
doubt  she  was  overjoyed  that  I  should  guess  her  plot." 

"Do  you  think  that,  even  if  you'd  known  sooner, 
you  could  have  stopped  the  Emperor  from  visiting  at 
Lyndalberg  ? "  asked  Egon.  "  I  know  that  you  are 
iron;  but  he  is  steel." 

"I  would  have  stopped  him,"  returned  the  Chan- 
[163] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
cellor.  "I  should  have  made  no  bones  about  the 
reason ;  for  I've  found  that  the  best  way  with  Leopold 
is  to  blurt  out  the  whole  truth,  and  fight  him  —  my 
experience  against  his  will.  If  advice  and  warning 
hadn't  sufficed  to  restrain  him  from  insulting  the 
girl  who  is  to  be  his  wife,  and  injuring  the  reputation 
of  the  girl  who  never  can  be,  I  would  have  devised 
some  expedient  to  thwart  him,  for  his  own  good. 
I'm  not  a  man  to  give  up  when  I  feel  that  I  am  right." 
"  Neither  is  he,"  Egon  added.  "  But  since  you  seem 
so  determined  to  nip  this  dainty  blossom  of  love  in 
the  bud,  we'll  hope  it's  not  yet  too  late  for  a  sharp 
frost  to  blight  it." 

"I  sent  for  you,"  said  the  Chancellor,  brushing 
away  metaphor  with  an  impatient  gesture,  "to  show 
me  the  precise  spot  on  which  to  lay  my  finger." 

"I'll  do  my  best  to  deserve  your  confidence," 
responded  Egon,  gracefully.  "Let  me  see,  where 
shall  I  begin  ?  Well,  as  you  know,  it's  simpler  for 
the  Emperor  to  see  a  good  deal  of  the  woman  he 
admires,  at  a  friend's  house  than  almost  anywhere 
else,  in  his  own  country.  This  particular  woman 
risked  her  life  to  save  his;  and  it's  so  natural  for 
him  to  be  gracious  in  return,  that  people  would  be 
[164] 


IRON    HEART    AT    HOME 
surprised  if  he  were  not.  There's  so  much  in  their 
favor,  at  the  commencement. 

"Miss  Mowbray  and  her  mother  arrived  at  Lyn- 
dalberg  before  the  Emperor,  had  made  friends  there, 
and  were  ready  for  the  campaign.  The  girl  is  un 
doubtedly  beautiful  —  the  prettiest  creature  I  think  I 
ever  saw  —  and  she  has  a  winning  way  which  takes 
with  women  as  well  as  men.  Not  one  of  her  fellow- 
guests  seems  to  put  a  wrong  construction  on  her 
flirtation  with  the  Emperor,  or  his  with  her.  The 
other  men  would  think  him  blind  if  he  didn't  admire 
her  as  much  as  they  do ;  and  none  of  the  women  there 
are  of  the  sort  to  be  jealous.  So,  are  you  sure,  Lorenz, 
that  you're  not  taking  too  serious  a  view  of  the 
affair?" 

"It  can't  be  taken  too  seriously,  considering  the 
circumstances.  I've  told  you  my  plans  for  the  Em 
peror's  future.  Princesses  are  women,  and  gossip  is 
hydra-headed.  When  the  lady  hears  —  she  who  has 
been  allowed  to  understand  that  the  Emperor  of 
Rhaetia  only  waits  for  a  suitable  opportunity  of 
formally  asking  for  her  hand  —  for  she  will  surely 
hear,  that  he  has  seized  this  very  moment  for  his 
first  liason,  I  tell  you  neither  she  nor  her  people  are 
[165] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
likely  to  accept  the  statement  meekly.  She's  half 
German;  on  her  father's  side  a  cousin  not  too  distant 
of  William  II.  She's  half  English;  on  her  mother's 
side  related  to  the  King  through  the  line  of  the 
Stuarts.  And  in  her  there's  a  dash  of  American  blood 
which  comes  from  a  famous  grandmother,  who  was 
descended  from  George  Washington,  a  man  as  proud, 
and  with  the  right  to  be  as  proud,  as  any  King.  All 
three  countries  would  have  reason  to  resent  such  an 
ungallant  slight  from  Rhaetia." 

"The  little  affair  must  be  hushed  up,"  said  Egon. 

"It  must  be  stopped,  and  at  once,"  said  the  Chan 
cellor. 

"Ach!"  sighed  the  young  man,  with  as  much 
meaning  in  the  long  drawn  breath,  as  the  elder  might 
care  to  read.  And  if  it  did  not  discourage,  it  at  least 
irritated  him.  "Go  on!"  he  exclaimed  sharply.  "Go 
on  with  your  sorry  tale." 

"After  all,  when  one  comes  to  the  telling,  there 
isn't  a  very  great  deal  one  can  put  into  cut-and-dried 
words,"  explained  Egon.  "At  table,  the  Emperor  has 
his  hostess  on  one  side  and  his  fair  preserver  on  the 
other.  The  two  talk  as  much  together  during  meals  as 
etiquette  allows,  and  perhaps  a  little  more.  Then,  as 
[166] 


IRON    HEART    AT    HOME 
the  Emperor  has  been  often  at  Lyndalberg,  he  can 
act  as  cicerone  for  a  stranger.  He  has  shown  Miss 
Mowbray  all  the  beauties  of  the  place.  He  gathers 
her  roses  in  the  rose  garden ;  he  has  guided  her  through 
the  grottoes.  He  has  piloted  her  through  the  laby 
rinth;  he  has  told  her  which  are  the  best  dogs  in  the 
kennels;  and  has  given  her  the  history  of  all  the 
horses  in  the  Baron's  stables.  I  know  this  from  the 
table  talk.  He  has  explored  the  lake  with  Miss  Mow- 
bray  and  her  mother  in  a  motor-boat;  perhaps  you 
saw  the  party  ?  And  whether  or  no  he  brought  his 
automobile  to  Lyndalberg  on  purpose,  in  any  case 
he's  had  the  Mowbrays  out  in  it  several  times  already. 
One  would   hardly   think  he   could   have  found   a 
chance  to  do  so  much  in  such  a  short  time;  but  our 
Emperor  is  a  man  of  action.  Yesterday  we  had  a 
picnic    at    the    Seebachfall,    to    see    Thorwaldsen's 
Undine.  Leopold  and  Miss  Mowbray  being  splendid 
climbers,  reached  the  statue  on  the  height  over  the 
fall  long  before  the  rest  of  us.  At  starting,  however, 
I  was  close  behind  with  the  Baroness,  and  overheard 
some  joke  between  the  two,  about  a  mountain  and  a 
cow.  The  Emperor  spoke  of  milking  as  a  fine  art, 
and  said  he'd  lately  been  taking  lessons.  They  laugh- 
[167] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
ed  a  great  deal  at  this,  and  it  was  plain  that  they 
were  on  terms  of  comradeship.  When  a  young  man 
and  a  girl  have  a  secret  understanding  —  even  the 
most  innocent  one  —  it  puts  them  apart  from  others. 

"  Last  night  there  were  fireworks  on  the  lake.  The 
Emperor  and  Miss  Mowbray  watched  them  together, 
for  everything  was  conducted  most  informally.  After 
wards  we  had  an  impromptu  cotillion,  with  three  or 
four  pretty  new  figures  invented  by  the  Baroness. 
The  Emperor  gave  Miss  Mowbray  several  favors, 
and  one  was  a  buckle  of  enameled  forget-me-nots. 
This  morning  there  was  tennis.  The  Emperor  and 
Miss  Mowbray  played  together.  They  were  both  so 
skilful,  it  was  a  pleasure  to  watch  them.  At  luncheon 
they  each  ate  a  double  almond  out  of  one  shell,  had 
a  game  over  it,  and  Leopold  caught  Miss  Mowbray 
napping.  That  brings  us  to  the  moment  of  my  coming 
to  you.  For  the  afternoon,  I  fancy  the  Baroness  was 
getting  up  a  riding  party;  and  this  evening  unless 
they're  too  tired,  she'll  perhaps  get  up  an  amateur 
concert  at  which  Miss  Mowbray  will  sing.  The  girl 
has  a  delicious  voice." 

"  The  creature  must  be  a  fool,  or  an  adventuress," 
pronounced  the  Chancellor.   "If  she  has  kept  her 
[168] 


IRON    HEART    AT    HOME 
senses  she  ought  to  know  that  nothing  can  come  of 
this  folly  —  except  sorrow  or  scandal." 

Egon  shrugged  his  stiffly  padded,  military  shoul 
ders.  "  I  have  always  found  that  a  woman  in  love 
doesn't  stop  to  count  the  cost." 

"So!  You  fancy  her  'in  love'  with  the  Em 
peror." 

"  With  the  man,  rather  than  the  Emperor,  if  I'm  a 
judge  of  character." 

"Which  you're  not!"  Iron  Heart  brusquely  dis 
posed  of  that  suggestion.  "The  merest  school-girl 
could  pull  wool  over  your  eyes,  if  she  cared  to  take 
the  trouble." 

"This  one  doesn't  care  a  rap.  She  hardly  knows 
that  I  exist." 

"Humph!"  The  Chancellor's  eyes  appraised  his 
young  brother's  features.  "That's  a  pity.  You  might 
have  tried  cutting  the  Emperor  out.  Her  affair  with 
him  can  have  no  happy  ending;  while  you,  in  spite  of 
all  your  faults,  with  your  good  looks,  our  position, 
and  my  money,  wouldn't  be  a  bad  match  for  an 
ambitious  girl." 

"Your  money?" 

"I  mean,  should  I  choose  to  make  you  my  heir, 
[169] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
and  I  would  choose,  if  you  married  to  please  me. 
Who  are  these  Mowbrays  ?  " 

"  I  haven't  had  the  curiosity  to  inquire  into  their 
antecedents,"  said  Egon.  "I  only  know  that  they're 
ladies,  that  they  must  be  of  some  consequence  in  their 
own  country,  or  they  couldn't  have  got  the  letters  of 
introduction  they  have;  and  that  the  girl  is  the  pretti 
est  on  earth." 

"  Mechtilde  talked  to  me,  I  remember,  a  good  deal 
about  those  letters  of  introduction,"  the  Chancellor 
reflected  aloud.  "But  Rhaetia  is  a  long  cry  from 
England;  and  letters  might  be  forged.  I've  known 
such  things  to  be  done.  Fetch  me  a  big  red  volume 
you'll  find  on  the  third  shelf  from  the  floor,  at  the  left 
of  the  south  window.  You  can't  miss  it.  It's  '  Burke's 
Peerage/" 

Egon  rose  with  alacrity  to  obey.  He  was  rather 
thoughtful,  for  his  brother  had  put  an  entirely  new 
and  exciting  idea  into  his  head. 

Presently  the  red  volume  was  discovered  and  laid 
on  the  desk  before  the  Chancellor,  who  turned  the 
leaves  over  until  he  found  the  page  desired.  As  his 
eye  fell  upon  the  long  line  of  Mowbrays,  his  face 
changed  and  the  bristling  brows  came  together  in 
[170] 


IRON    HEART    AT    HOME 
a  grizzled  line.  Apparently  the  women  were  not  ad 
venturesses,  at   least  in  the  ordinary  acceptation  of 
the  term. 

There  they  were;  his  square- tipped  finger  pressed 
down  upon  the  printed  names  with  a  dig  that  might 
have  signified  his  disposition  toward  their  represen 
tatives. 

"  The  girl's  mother  is  the  widow  of  Reginald,  sixth 
Baron  Mowbray,"  the  old  man  muttered  half  aloud. 
"Son,  Reginald  Edward,  fifteen  years  of  age.  Daugh 
ter,  Helen  Agusta,  twenty-eight.  Aha !  She's  no  chick 
en,  this  young  lady.  She  ought  to  be  a  woman  of  the 
world." 

"Twenty-eight!"  replied  Egon.  "I'll  eat  my  hat  if 
she's  twenty-eight." 

"Doesn't  she  look  it,  by  daylight  ?" 

"Not  an  hour  over  nineteen.  Might  be  younger. 
Jove,  I  was  never  so  surprised  to  learn  a  woman's 
age!  By  the  by,  I  heard  her  telling  Baron  von 
Lyndal  last  night,  apropos  of  our  great  Rhaetian 
victory,  that  she  was  eleven  years  old  on  the  day  it 
took  place.  That  would  make  her  about  twenty  now. 
When  she  spoke,  I  remember  she  gave  a  look  at  her 
mother,  across  the  room,  as  though  she  were  frighten  - 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
ed.  I  suppose  she  was  hoping  there  was  no  copy  of 
this  big  red  book  at  Lyndalberg." 

"That  thought  might  have  been  in  her  mind," 
assented  the  Chancellor,  "  or  else  she  —  "  He  left  his 
sentence  unfinished,  and  sat  with  unseeing  eyes  fixed 
in  an  owlish  stare  on  the  open  page  of  Burke. 

"I  should  like  to  know  if  you  really  meant  what 
you  said  about  my  marriage  a  little  while  ago."  Egon 
ventured  to  attract  his  brother's  attention.  "  Because 
if  you  did  - 

"If  I  did—" 

"  I  might  try  very  hard  to  please  you  in  my  choice 
of  a  wife." 

i  ""Be  a  little  more  implicit.  You  mean,  you  would 
try  to  prove  to  Miss  Mowbray  that  a  Captain  of 
Cavalry  in  the  hand  is  worth  .an  Emperor  in  the  bush 

—  a  bramble-brush  at  that,  eh  ?  " 

"  Yes.  I  would  do  my  best.  And  as  you  say,  I'm 
not  without  advantages." 

"  You  are  not.  I  was  on  the  point  of  suggesting  that 
you  made  the  most  of  them  in  Miss  Mowbray 's  eyes 

—  until  you  brought  me  this  red  book." 

The  large  forefinger  tapped  the  page  of  Mowbrays, 
while  two  lines  which  might  have  meant  amusement, 
[172] 


IRON    HEART    AT    HOME 
or  a  sneer,  scored  themselves  on  either  side  the  Chan 
cellor's  mouth. 

"  And  now  —  you've  changed  your  mind  ?  "  There 
was  disappointment  in  Egon's  voice. 

"  I  don't  say  that.  I  say  only,  '  Wait.'  Make  your 
self  as  agreeable  to  the  lady  as  you  like.  But  don't 
pledge  yourself,  and  don't  count  upon  my  promise  or 
my  money,  until  you  hear  again.  By  that  time  — 
well,  we  shall  see  what  we  shall  see.  Keep  your  hand 
in.  But  wait  —  wait." 

"  How  long  am  I  to  wait  ?  If  the  thing's  to  be  done 
at  all,  it  must  be  done  soon,  for  meanwhile,  the  Em 
peror  makes  all  the  running." 

The  Chancellor  looked  up  again  from  the  red  book, 
his  fist  still  covering  the  Mowbrays,  as  if  they  were 
to  be  extinguished.  "  You  are  to  wait,"  he  said,  "  until 
I've  had  answers  to  a  couple  of  telegrams  I  shall  send 
to-night." 


[173 


CHAPTER  X 
VIRGINIA'S    GREAT    MOMENT 

THE   first   and    second    dressing   gongs   had 
sounded    at    Schloss    Lyndalberg    on    the 
evening  of  the  day  after  Egon  von  Breit- 
stein's  visit  to  his  brother,  and  the  Grand  Duchess 
was  beginning  to  wonder   uneasily   what    kept  her 
daughter,  when  ringed  fingers  tapped  on  the  panel 
of  the  door. 

"Come  in!"  she  answered,  and  Virginia  appeared, 
still  in  the  white  tennis  dress  she  had  worn  that  after 
noon.  She  stood  for  an  instant  without  speaking,  her 
face  so  radiantly  beautiful  that  her  mother  thought 
it  seemed  illumined  from  a  light  within. 

It  had  been  on  the  lips  of  the  Grand  Duchess  to 
scold  the  girl  for  her  tardiness,  since  to  be  late  was 
an  unpardonable  offense,  with  an  Imperial   Majesty 
in  the  house.  But  in  that  radiance  the  words  died. 
"  Virginia,  what  is  it  ?  You  look  —  I  scarcely  know 
[174] 


VIRGINIA'S    GREAT    MOMENT 
how  you  look.  But  you  make  me  feel  that  something 
has  happened." 

The  Princess  came  slowly  across  the  room,  smiling 
softly,  with  an  air  of  one  who  walks  in  sleep.  Hardly 
conscious  of  what  she  did,  she  sank  down  in  a  big 
chair,  and  sat  resting  her  elbows  on  her  knees,  her 
chin  nestling  between  her  two  palms,  like  a  pink- 
white  rose  in  its  calyx. 

"You  may  go,  Ernestine,"  said  the  Grand  Duchess 
to  her  maid.  "  I'll  ring  when  I  want  you  again." 

The  elaborate  process  of  waving  and  dressing  her 
still  abundant  hair  had  fortunately  come  to  a  success 
ful  end,  and  Ernestine  had  just  caused  a  diamond 
star  to  rise  above  her  forehead.  She  was  in  a  robe  de 
chambre,  and  the  rest  of  her  toilet  could  wait  till 
curiosity  was  satisfied. 

But  Virginia  still  sat  dreaming,  her  happy  eyes  far 
away.  The  Grand  Duchess  had  to  speak  twice  before 
the  girl  heard,  and  started  a  little.  "  My  daughter  — 
have  you  anything  to  tell  me  ?  " 

The  Princess  roused  herself.  "Nothing,  Mother, 
really.  Except  that  I'm  the  happiest  girl  on  earth." 

"  Why  —  what  has  he  said  ?  " 

"  Not  one  word  that  any  one  mightn't  have  listened 
[175] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
to.  But  I  know  now.  He  does  care.  And  I  think  he 
will  say  something  before  we  part." 

"  There's  only  one  more  day  of  his  visit  here,  after 
to-night." 

"One  whole  long,  beautiful  day  —  together." 

"But  after  all,  dearest,"  argued  her  mother, 
"  what  do  you  expect  ?  If  in  truth  you  were  only  Miss 
Mowbray,  marriage  between  you  and  the  Emperor 
would  be  out  of  the  question.  You've  never  gone  into 
the  subject  of  your  feelings  about  this,  quite  thorough 
ly  with  me,  and  I  do  wish  I  knew  precisely  what  you 
hope  for  from  him ;  what  you  will  consider  the  — 
the  keystone  of  the  situation  ?" 

"  Only  for  him  to  say  that  he  loves  me,"  Virginia 
confessed.  "  If  I'm  right  —  if  I've  brought  something 
new  into  his  life,  something  which  has  shown  him  that 
his  heart's  as  important  as  his  head,  then  there  will 
come  a  moment  when  he  can  keep  silence  no  longer 
-  when  he'll  be  forced  to  say;  'I  love  you,  dear,  and 
because  we  can't  belong  to  each  other,  day  is  turned 
into  night  for  me.'  Then,  when  that  moment  comes, 
the  tide  of  my  fortune  ^/ill  be  at  its  flood.  I  shall  tell 
him  that  I  love  him  too.  And  I  shall  tell  him  all  the 
truth.'9 

[176] 


VIRGINIA'S    GREAT    MOMENT 

"  You'll  tell    him  who  we  really  are  ?  " 

"Yes.  And  why  I've  been  masquerading.  That  it 
was  because,  ever  since  I  was  a  little  girl,  he'd  been 
the  one  man  in  the  world  for  me;  because,  when  our 
marriage  was  suggested  through  official  channels,  I 
made  up  my  mind  that  I  must  win  him  first  through 
love,  or  live  single  all  my  days." 

"  What  if  he  should  be  vexed  at  the  deception,  and 
refuse  to  forgive  you  ?  You  know,  darling,  we  shall  be 
in  a  rather  curious  position  when  everything  comes 
out,  as  we  have  made  all  our  friends  here  under  the 
name  of  Mowbray.  Of  course,  the  excuse  for  what  we 
did  is,  that  our  real  position  is  a  hundred  times  higher 
than  the  one  we  assumed,  and  all  those  to  whom  we've 
been  introduced  would  be  delighted  to  know  us  in 
our  own  characters,  at  the  end.  But  Leopold  is  a 
man,  not  a  romantic  girl,  as  you  are.  He  has  always 
had  a  reputation  for  pride  and  austerity,  for  being 
just  before  he  would  let  himself  be  generous;  and  it 
may  be  that  to  one  of  his  nature,  a  wild  whim  like 
yours  —  " 

"You  think  of  him  as  he  was  before  we  met,  not 
as  he  is  now,  if  you  fancy  he  could  be  hard  with  a 
woman  he  really  loved,"  said  Virginia,  eagerly.  "  He'll 
[177] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
forgive  me,  dear.  I've  no  fear  of  him  any  more.  To 
night,  I've  no  fear  of  anything.  He  loves  me  —  and 
—  I'm  Empress  of  the  world." 

"  Many  women  would  be  satisfied  with  Rhaetia," 
was  the  practical  response  which  jumped  into  the 
mind  of  the  Grand  Duchess ;  but  she  would  throw  no 
more  cold  water  upon  the  rose-flame  of  her  daughter's 
exaltation.  She  kissed  the  gi  1  on  the  forehead,  breath 
ing  a  few  words  of  motherly  sympathy;  but  when  the 
Princess  had  flown  off  to  her  own  room  to  dress,  she 
shook  her  diamond-starred  head  doubtfully. 

Virginia's  plan  sounded  poetical,  and  as  easy  to 
carry  out  as  to  turn  a  kaleidoscope  and  form  a  charm 
ing  new  combination  of  color;  or  so  it  had  seemed 
while  the  young  voice  pleaded.  But,  when  the  happy 
face  and  radiant  eyes  no  longer  illumined  the  path, 
the  way  ahead  seemed  dark. 

To  be  sure  the  Princess  had  so  far  walked  trium 
phantly  along  the  high-road  to  success,  but  it  was  not 
always  a  good  beginning  which  led  to  a  good  end; 
and  the  Grand  Duchess  felt,  as  she  rang  for  Ernes 
tine,  that  her  nerves  would  be  strained  to  breaking 
point  until  matters  were  definitely  settled,  for  better 

or  for  worse. 

[178] 


VIRGINIA'S  GREAT  MOMENT 
Virginia  had  never  been  lovelier  than  she  was  that 
night  at  dinner,  and  Egon  von  Breitstein's  admiration 
for  her  beauty  had  in  it  a  fascinating  new  ingredient. 
Until  yesterday,  he  had  said  to  himself,  "If  she  be 
not  fair  to  me,  what  care  I  how  fair  she  be  ?  "  But  now, 
there  was  a  vague  idea  that  she  might  after  all  be  for 
him,  and  he  took  enormous  pleasure  in  the  thought 
that  he  was  falling  in  love  with  a  girl  who  had  cap 
tured  the  Emperor's  heart. 

Egon  glanced  very  often  at  Leopold,  contrasting 
his  sovereign's  appearance  unfavorably  with  his  own. 
The  Empercr  was  thin  and  dark,  with  a  grave  cast  of 
feature,  while  Egon's  face  kept  the  color  and  youth- 
fulness  of  the  early  twenties.  He  was  older  than  Leo 
pold,  but  he  looked  a  boy.  Alma  Tadema  would  have 
wreathed  him  with  vine  leaves,  draped  him  with  tiger 
skins,  and  set  him  down  on  a  marble  bench  against  a 
burning  sapphire  sky,  where  he  would  have  ap 
peared  more  suitably  clad  than  in  the  stiff  blue  and 
silver  uniform  of  a  crack  Rhaetian  regiment. 

Leopold,  on  the  contrary,  would  never  be  painted 

except  as  a  soldier;  and  it  seemed  to  Egon  that  no 

normal  girl  could  help  thinking  him  a  far  handsomer 

fellow  than  the  Emperor.  For  the  moment,  of  course, 

[179] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
Miss  Mowbray  did  not  notice  him,  because  his  Im 
perial  Majesty  loomed  large  in  the  foreground  of  her 
imagination;  but  the  Chancellor  had  evidently  a  plan 
in  his  head  for  removing  that  stately  obstacle  into  the 
dim  perspective. 

Egon  had  not  heard  Miss  Mowbray  spoken  of  as  an 
heiress,  therefore,  even  had  there  been  no  Emperor 
in  the  way,  he  would  not  have  worshiped  at  the 
shrine.  But  now,  behold  the  shrine,  attractive  before, 
newly  and  alluringly  decked !  Egon  wondered  much 
over  his  half-brother's  apparently  impulsive  offer, 
and  the  contradictory  command,  which  had,  a  little 
later,  enjoined  waiting. 

He  was  delighted,  however,  that  he  had  not  been 
forbidden  to  make  himself  agreeable;  and  his  idea 
was,  as  soon  as  dinner  should  be  over,  to  find  a  place 
at  Miss  Mowbray's  side  before  any  other  man  should 
have  time  to  take  it.  But  unluckily  for  this  plan, 
Baron  von  Lyndal  detained  him  for  a  few  moments 
with  praise  of  a  new  remedy  which  might  cure  the 
Chancellor's  gout;  and  when  he  escaped  from  his 
host  to  look  for  Miss  Mowbray  in  the  white  drawing- 
room  she  was  not  there. 

From  the  music  room  adjoining,  however,  came 


VIRGINIA'S  GREAT  MOMENT 
sounds  which  drew  him  toward  the  door.  He  knew 
Miss  Mowbray's  soft,  coaxing  touch  on  the  piano: 
she  was  there,  "playing  in  a  whisper,"  as  he  had 
heard  her  call  it.  Perhaps  she  was  going  to  sing,  as 
she  had  once  or  twice  before,  and  would  need  some 
one  to  turn  the  pages  of  her  music.  Egon  thought  that 
he  would  much  like  to  be  the  some  one,  and  was  in  the 
act  of  parting  the  white  velvet  portieres  that  covered 
the  doorway,  when  his  hostess  smilingly  beckoned 
him  away. 

"The  Emperor  has  just  asked  Miss  Mowbray  to 
teach  him  some  old-fashioned  Scotch  or  English  air 
(I'm  afraid  I  don't  quite  know  the  difference !)  called 
'Annie  Laurie,'"  the  Baroness  explained.  "He  was 
charmed  with  it  when  she  sang  the  other  evening, 
and  I've  been  assuring  him  that  the  song  would 
exactly  suit  his  voice.  We  mustn't  disturb  them 
while  the  lesson  is  going  on.  Tell  me  —  I've  hardly 
had  a  moment  to  ask  you  —  how  did  you  find  the 
Chancellor?" 

Chained  to  a  forced  allegiance,  Egon  mechanically 
answered  the  questions  of  the  Baroness  without  mak 
ing  absurd  mistakes,  the  while  his  ears  burned  to  hear 
what  was  going  on  behind  the  white  curtain. 
[181] 


THE   PRINCESS   VIRGINIA 

Everybody  knew  of  the  music  lesson,  now,  and 
chatted  in  tones  of  tactful  monotony,  never  speaking 
too  loudly  to  disturb  the  singers,  never  too  cautiously, 
lest  they  should  seem  to  listen.  Once,  and  then  again, 
the  creamy  mezzo  soprano  and  the  rich  tenor  that  was 
almost  a  baritone,  sang  conscientiously  through  the 
verses  of  "Annie  Laurie"  from  beginning  to  end; 
then  a  few  desultory  chords  were  struck  on  the  piano ; 
and  at  last  there  was  silence  behind  the  white  cur 
tains,  in  the  music  room. 

Were  the  two  still  there  ?  To  interrupt  such  a 
tete-a-tete  seemed  out  of  the  question,  but  not  to 
know  what  was  happening  Egon  found  too  hard  to 
bear,  and  the  arrival  of  a  telegram  for  Lady  Mow- 
bray  came  as  opportunely  as  if  Providence  had  had  his 
special  needs  in  mind. 

Evidently  it  was  not  a  pleasant  telegram,  for,  as 
she  read  it,  the  Dresden  china  lady  showed  plainly 
that  she  was  disconcerted.  Her  pretty  face  lost  its 
color;  her  eyes  dilated  as  if  she  had  tasted  a  drop  of 
belladonna  on  sugar;  she  patted  her  lips  with  her 
lace  handkerchief,  and  finally  rose  from  her  chair, 
looking  dazed  and  distressed. 

"  I've  had  rather  bad  news,"  she  admitted  to  Baron- 
[182] 


VIRGINIA'S    GREAT    MOMENT 

ess  von  Lyndal,  who  was  all  solicitude.  "  Oh,  nothing 
really  serious,  I  trust,  but  still,  disquieting.  It  is  from 
a  dear  friend.  I  think  I  had  better  go  to  my  room,  and 
talk  things  over  with  Helen.  Would  you  be  kind 
enough  to  tell  her  when  she  comes  in  that  she's  to 
follow  me  there  ?  Don't  send  for  her  till  then;  it's  not 
necessary.  But  I  shall  want  her  by  and  by." 

It  was  clear  that  Lady  Mowbray  did  not  wish  her 
daughter  to  be  disturbed.  Still,  Egon  von  Breitstein 
thought  he  might  fairly  let  his  anxiety  run  away  with 
him.  As  the  Baroness  accompanied  her  guest  to  the 
door,  he  took  it  upon  himself  to  search  for  Miss  Mow- 
bray,  for  now,  if  the  Emperor  should  curse  him  for  a 
spoil-sport,  he  would  have  the  best  of  excuses.  Lady 
Mowbray  was  in  need  of  her  daughter. 

He  lifted  the  white  curtain  and  peeped  through  a 
small  ante-chamber  into  the  music  room  beyond. 
It  was  empty;  but  one  of  the  long  windows  leading 
into  the  rose  garden  was  wide  open. 

The  month  of  September  was  dying,  and  away  in 
the  Rhaetian  mountains  winter  had  begun ;  yet  in  the 
lap  of  the  low  country  summer  lingered.  The  air  was 
soft,  and  sweet  with  the  perfume  of  roses,  roses  living, 
and  roses  dead  in  a  potpourri  of  scattered  petals  on 
[183] 


THE   PRINCESS   VIRGINIA 
the  grass.  It  was  a  garden  for  lovers,  and  a  night  for 
lovers. 

Egon  went  to  the  open  window  and  looked  out, 
but  dared  not  let  his  feet  take  the  direction  of  his 
eyes,  though  he  was  sure  that  somewhere  in  the 
garden  Miss  Mowbray  and  the  Emperor  were  to  be 
found. 

"They  will  come  in  again  this  way,"  he  said  to 
himself,  "for  they  will  want  people  to  think  they 
have  never  left  the  music  room;  and  for  that  very 
reason  they  won't  stop  too  long.  They  must  have 
some  regard  for  the  conventions.  If  I  wait  — ! 

He  did  not  finish  the  sentence  in  his  mind ;  never 
theless  he  examined  the  resources  of  the  window 
niche  with  a  critical  eye. 

There  was  a  deep  enclosure  between  the  window 
frame  and  the  long,  straight  curtains  of  olive  green 
satin  which  matched  the  decoration  of  the  music 
room.  By  drawing  the  curtains  a  few  inches  further 
forward,  one  could  make  a  screen  which  would  hide 
one  from  observation  by  any  person  in  the  room,  or 
outside,  in  the  garden.  So  Egon  did  draw  the  curtain, 
and  framed  in  his  shelter  like  a  saint  in  a  niche,  he 
stood  peering  into  the  silver  night. 
[184] 


VIRGINIA'S    GREAT    MOMENT 

The  moon  was  rising  over  the  lake,  and  long,  pale 
rays  of  level  light  were  stealing  up  the  paths,  like  the 
fingers  of  a  blind  child  that  caress  gropingly  the  fea 
tures  of  a  beloved  face. 

Egon  could  not  see  the  whole  garden,  or  all  the 
paths  among  the  roses;  but  if  the  Emperor  and  his 
companion  came  back  by  the  way  they  had  gone, 
he  would  know  presently  whether  they  walked  in  the 
attitude  of  friends  or  lovers.  It  was  so  necessary  for 
his  plans  to  know  this,  that  he  thought  it  worth  while 
to  exercise  a  little  patience  in  waiting.  Of  course,  if 
they  were  lovers,  good-by  to  his  hopes;  and  he 
would  never  have  so  good  a  chance  as  this  to  make 
sure. 

All  things  in  the  garden  that  were  not  white  were 
gray  as  a  dove's  wings.  Even  the  shadows  were  not 
black.  And  the  sky  was  gray,  with  the  soft  gray  of 
velvet,  under  a  crust  of  diamonds  which  flashed  as 
the  spangles  on  a  woman's  fan  flash,  when  it  trembles 
in  her  hand. 

White  moths,  happily  ignorant  that  summer  would 
come  no  more  for  them,  drifted  out  from  the  shadows 
like  rose  petals  blown  by  the  soft  wind.  On  a  trellis, 
a  crowding  sisterhood  of  pale  roses  drooped  their 

[185] 


THE   PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
heads  downward  in  memento  mori.  It  was  a  silver 
night;  a  night  of  enchantment. 

Leopold  had  meant  to  take  Virginia  out  only  to 
see  the  moon  rise  over  the  water,  turning  the  great 
smooth  sheet  of  jet  into  a  silver  shield;  for  there  had 
been  clouds  or  spurts  of  rain  on  other  nights,  and  he 
had  said  to  himself  that  never  again,  perhaps,  would 
they  two  stand  together  under  the  white  spell  of  the 
moon.  He  had  meant  to  keep  her  for  five  minutes,  or 
ten  at  the  most,  and  then  to  bring  her  back;  but  they 
had  walked  down  to  the  path  which  girdled  the  cliff 
above  the  lake.  The  moon  touched  her  golden  hair 
and  her  pure  face  like  a  benediction.  He  dared  not 
look  at  her  thus  for  long,  and  when  there  came  a  sud 
den  quick  rustling  in  the  grass  at  their  feet,  he  bent 
down,  glad  of  any  change  in  the  current  of  his 
thoughts. 

Some  tiny,  winged  thing  of  the  night  sought  a 
lodging  in  a  bell-shaped  flower  whose  blue  color 
the  moon  had  drunk,  and  as  Leopold  stooped,  the 
same  impulse  made  Virginia  bend. 

He  stretched  out  his  hand  to  gather  the  low-growing 
branch  of  blossoms,  which  he  would  give  the  girl  as  a 
souvenir  of  this  hour,  and  their  fingers  met.   Lake 
[186] 


VIRGINIA'S    GREAT    MOMENT 
and  garden  swam  before  the  eyes  of  the  Princess  as 
the  Emperor's  hand  closed  over  hers. 

Her  great  moment  had  come ;  yet  now  that  it  was 
here,  womanlike  she  wished  it  away  —  not  gone  for 
ever,  oh  no,  but  waiting  just  round  the  corner  of  the 
future. 

"  The  flowers  are  yours  —  I  give  them  to  you,"  she 
laughed,  as  if  she  fancied  it  was  in  eagerness  to  grasp 
the  disputed  spray  that  he  had  pressed  her  fingers. 

"  You  are  the  one  flower  I  want  —  flower  of  all  the 
world,"  he  answered,  in  a  choked  voice,  speaking 
words  he  had  not  meant  to  speak ;  but  the  ice  barriers 
that  held  back  the  torrent  of  which  he  had  told  her, 
had  melted  long  ago  and  now  had  been  swept  away. 
Other  barriers  which  he  had  built  up  in  their  place  — 
his  convictions,  his  duty  as  a  man  at  the  head  of  a 
nation  —  were  gone  too.  "  I  love  you,"  he  stammered, 
"  I  love  you  far  better  than  my  life,  which  you  saved. 
I've  loved  you  ever  since  our  first  hour  together  on  the 
mountain,  but  every  day  my  love  has  grown  a  thous 
and  fold,  until  now  it's  greater  and  higher  than  any 
mountain.  I  can  fight  against  myself  no  longer.  I 
thought  I  was  strong,  but  this  love  is  stronger  than  I 
am.  Say  that  you  care  for  me  —  only  say  that." 
[187] 


THE   PRINCESS   VIRGINIA 

"I  do  care,"  Virginia  whispered.  She  had  prayed 
for  this,  lived  for  this,  and  she  was  drowning  in  happi 
ness.  Yet  she  had  pictured  a  different  scene,  a  scene 
of  storm  and  stress.  She  had  heard  in  fancy  broken 
words  of  sorrow  and  noble  renunciation  on  his  lips, 
and  in  anticipating  his  suffering  she  had  felt  the  joy 
her  revelation  would  give.  "  I  care  —  so  much,  so 
much!  How  hard  it  will  be  to  part." 

"If  you  care,  then  we  shall  not  be  parted,"  said 
Leopold. 

The  Princess  looked  up  at  him  in  wonder,  holding 
back  as  he  would  have  caught  her  in  his  arms.  What 
could  he  mean  ?  What  plan  was  in  his  mind  that, 
believing  her  to  be  Helen  Mowbray,  yet  made  it  pos 
sible  for  him  to  reassure  her  so  ? 

"I  don't  understand,"  she  faltered.  "You  are  the 
Emperor,  and  I  am  no  more  than  - 

"You  are  my  wife,  if  you  love  me." 

In  the  shock  of  her  ecstatic  surprise  she  was  help 
less  to  resist  him  longer,  and  he  held  her  close  and 
passionately,  his  lips  on  her  hair,  her  face  crushed 
against  his  heart.  She  could  hear  it  beating,  feel  it 
throb  under  her  cheek.  His  wife  ?  Then  he  loved  her 

enough  for  that.  Yet  how  was  it  possible  for  him  to 

[188] 


VIRGINIA'S    GREAT    MOMENT 
stand  ready,  for  her  sake,  to  override  the  laws  of  his 
own  land  ? 

"  My  darling  —  my  wife ! "  he  said  again.  "  To 
think  that  you  love  me." 

"I  have  loved  you  from  the  first,"  the  Princess 
confessed,  "  but  I  was  afraid  you  would  feel,  even  if 
you  cared,  that  we  must  say  good-by.  Now  — ' 
And  in  an  instant  the  whole  truth  would  have  been 
out;  but  the  word  "good-by"  stabbed  him,  and  he 
could  not  let  it  pass. 

"  We  shall  not  say  good-by,  not  for  an  hour,"  he 
cried.  "  After  this  I  could  not  lose  you.  There's  nothing 
to  prevent  my  being  your  husband,  you  my  wife. 
Would  to  God  you  were  of  Royal  blood,  and  you 
should  be  my  Empress  —  the  fairest  Empress  that 
poet  or  historian  ever  saw  —  but  we're  prisoners  of 
Fate,  you  and  I.  We  must  take  the  goods  the  gods 
provide.  My  goddess  you  will  always  be,  but  the  Em 
press  of  Rhaetia,  even  my  love  isn't  powerful  enough 
to  make  you.  If  I  am  to  you  only  half  what  you  are  to 
me,  you'll  be  satisfied  with  the  empire  of  my  heart." 

Suddenly  the  warm  blood  in  Virginia's  veins  grew 
chill.  It  was  as  if  a  wind  had  blown  up  from  the  dark 
depths  of  the  lake,  to  strike  like  ice  into  her  soul.  An 
[189] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
instant  more  and  he  would  have  known  that  she  was 
a  Princess  of  the  Blood,  and  through  his  whole  life 
she  could  have  gone  on  worshiping  him  because  he 
had  been  ready  to  break  down  all  barriers  for  her 
love,  before  he  guessed  there  need  be  none  to  break. 
Now  her  warm  impulse  of  gratitude  was  frozen  by  the 
biting  blast  of  disillusionment;  but  still  there  was 
hope  left.  It  might  be  that  she  misunderstood  him. 
She  would  not  judge  him  yet. 

"  The  empire  of  your  heart,"  she  echoed.  "  If  that 
were  mine  I  should  be  richer  than  with  all  the  trea 
sures  of  the  earth.  If  you  were  Leo,  the  chamois  hunt 
er,  I  would  love  you  as  I  love  you  now,  because  in 
yourself  you  are  the  one  man  for  me;  and  I'd  go  with 
you  to  the  end  of  the  world,  as  your  wife.  But  you're 
not  the  chamois  hunter;  you  are  the  man  I  love,  yet 
you  are  the  Emperor.  Being  the  Emperor,  had  you 
talked  of  a  hopeless  love  and  a  promise  not  to  forget, 
having  nothing  else  to  give  me,  because  of  your  high 
destiny  and  my  humbler  one,  I  could  still  have  been 
happy.  Yet  you  speak  of  more  than  that.  You  speak 
of  something  I  can't  understand.  It  seems  to  me  that 
what  a  Royal  man  offers  the  woman  he  loves  should 

be  all  or  nothing." 

[190] 


VIRGINIA'S    GREAT    MOMENT 

"I  do  offer  you  all,"  said  Leopold.  "All  myself, 
my  life,  the  heart  and  soul  of  me  —  all  that's  my  own 
to  give.  The  rest  —  belongs  to  Rhaetia." 

"  Then  what  do  you  mean  by  — 

"  Don't  you  understand,  my  sweet,  that  I've  asked 
you  to  be  my  wife  ?  What  can  a  man  ask  more  of  a 
woman  ?  " 

"  Your  wife  —  but  not  the  Empress.  How  can  the 
two  be  apart  ?  " 

He  tried  to  take  her  once  more  in  his  arms,  but 
when  he  saw  that  she  would  not  have  it  so,  he  held 
his  love  in  check,  and  waited.  He  was  sure  that  he 
would  not  need  to  wait  long,  for  not  only  had  he  laid 
his  love  at  her  feet,  but  had  pledged  himself  to  a 
tremendous  sacrifice  on  love's  altar. 

The  step  which  in  a  moment  of  passion  he  had 
now  resolved  to  take  would  create  dissension  among 
his  people,  alienate  one  who  had  been  his  second 
father,  rouse  England,  America  and  Germany  to 
anger,  because  of  the  Princess  whose  name  rumor 
had  already  coupled  with  his,  and  raise  in  every 
direction  a  storm  of  disapproval.  When  this  girl 
whom  he  loved  realized  the  immensity  of  the  conces 
sion  he  was  making  because  of  his  reverent  love  for 
[191] 


THE    PRINCESS   VIRGINIA 
her,   she   would    give    her    life    to    him,  now  and 
forever. 

Tenderly  he  took  her  hand  and  lifted  it  to  his  lips ; 
then,  when  she  did  not  draw  it  away  (because  he  was 
to  have  his  chance  of  explanation)  he  held  it  between 
both  his  own,  as  he  talked  on. 

"  Dearest  one,"  he  said, "  when  I  first  knew  I  loved 
you  —  loved  you  as  I  didn't  dream  I  could  love  a 
woman  —  for  your  sake  and  my  own,  I  would  have 
avoided  meeting  you  too  often.  This  I  tell  you  frankly. 
I  didn't  see  how,  in  honor,  such  a  love  could  end  ex 
cept  in  despair  for  me,  and  sorrow  even  for  you,  if 
you  should  come  to  care.  Had  you  and  Lady  Mow- 
bray  stayed  on  at  the  hotel  in  Kronburg,  I  think  I 
could  have  held  to  my  resolve.  But  when  Baroness 
von  Lyndal  suggested  your  coming  here,  my  heart 
leaped  up.  I  said  in  my  mind,  'At  least  I  shall  have 
the  joy  of  seeing  her  every  day,  for  a  time,  without 
doing  anything  to  darken  her  future.  Afterwards, 
when  she  has  gone  out  of  my  life,  I  shall  have  that 
radiance  to  remember.  And  so  no  harm  will  be  done 
in  the  end,  except  that  I  shall  have  to  pay,  by  suffer 
ing.'  Still,  I  had  no  thought  of  the  future  without  a 
parting;  I  felt  that  inevitable.  And  the  suffering  came 
[192] 


VIRGINIA'S    GREAT    MOMENT 
hand  in  hand  with  the  joy,  for  not  a  night  here  at 
Lyndalberg   have   I   slept.    If  I  had  been  weak,  I 
should  have  groaned  aloud  in  the  agony  of  renun 
ciation. 

"My  rooms  open  on  a  lawn.  More  than  once  I've 
come  out  into  the  darkness,  when  all  the  household 
was  sleeping.  Some  times  I  have  walked  to  this  very 
spot  where  you  and  I  stand  now  —  heart  to  heart  for 
the  first  time,  my  darling  —  asking  myself  whether 
there  were  any  way  out  of  the  labyrinth.  It  was  not 
until  I  brought  you  here  and  saw  you  by  my  side  with 
the  moon  rays  for  a  crown,  that  a  flash  of  blinding 
light  seemed  to  pierce  the  clouds.  Suddenly  I  saw  all 
things  clearly,  and  though  there  will  be  difficulties,  I 
count  them  as  overcome." 

"Still  you  haven't  answered  my  question,"  said 
Virginia  in  a  low,  strained  voice. 

"I'm  coming  to  that  now.  It  was  best  that  you 
should  know  first  all  that's  been  troubling  my  heart 
and  brain  during  these  few,  bitter-sweet  days  which 
have  taught  me  so  much.  You  know,  men  who  have 
their  place  at  the  head  of  great  nations  can't  think 
first  of  themselves,  or  even  of  those  they  love  better 
than  themselves.  If  they  hope  to  snatch  at  personal 
[193] 


THE    PRINCESS   VIRGINIA 
happiness,  they  must  take  the  one  way  open  to  them, 
and  be  thankful. 

"  Don't  do  me  the  horrible  injustice  to  believe  that 
I  wouldn't  be  proud  to  show  you  to  my  subjects  as 
their  Empress;  but  instead,  I  can  offer  only  what  men 
of  Royal  blood  for  hundreds  of  years  have  offered 
to  women  whom  they  honored  as  well  as  loved. 
You  must  have  heard  even  in  England  of  what 
is  called  a  morganatic  marriage  ?  It  is  that  I  offer 
you." 

With  a  cry  of  pain  —  the  cruel  pain  of  wounded, 
disappointed  love  —  the  Princess  tore  her  hand 
from  his. 

"  Never ! "  she  exclaimed,  "  It's  an  insult." 

"  An  insult  ?  No,  a  thousand  times  no.  I  see  that 
even  now  you  don't  understand." 

"I  think  that  I  understand  very  well,  too  well," 
said  Virginia,  brokenly.  The  beautiful  fairy  palace 
of  happiness  that  she  had  watched  as  it  grew,  lay 
shattered,  destroyed  in  the  moment  which  ought  to 
have  seen  its  triumphant  completion. 

"I  tell  you  that  you  cannot  understand,  or  you 
wouldn't  say  —  you  wouldn't  dare  to  say,  my  love  — 

that  I'd  insulted  you.  Don't  you  see,  don't  you  know, 

[194] 


"  Never!  "  she  exclaimed.     "  It's  an  insult 


VIRGINIA'S    GREAT    MOMENT 
that  you  would  be  my  wife  in  the  sight  of  all  men, 
as  well  as  in  the  sight  of  God." 

"  Your  wife,  you  call  it ! "  the  Princess  gave  a  harsh 
little  laugh  which  hurt  as  tears  could  not  hurt.  "  You 
seem  to  have  strange  ideas  of  that  word,  which  has 
always  been  sacred  to  me.  A  morganatic  marriage ! 
That  is  a  mere  pretense,  an  hypocrisy.  I  would  be 
'your  wife,'  you  say.  I  would  give  you  all  my  love,  all 
my  life.  You,  in  return,  would  give  me  —  your  left 
hand.  And  you  know  well  that,  in  a  country  which 
tolerates  such  a  one-sided  travesty  of  marriage,  the 
laws  would  hold  you  free  to  marry  another  woman  — 
a  Royal  woman,  whom  you  could  make  an  Empress 
—  as  free  as  if  I  had  no  existence." 

"  Great  Heaven,  that  you  should  speak  so ! "  he 
broke  out.  "  What  if  the  law  did  hold  me  free  ?  Can 
you  dream  —  do  you  put  me  so  low  as  to  dream  that 
my  heart  would  hold  me  free  ?  My  soul  would  be 
bound  to  you  forever." 

"  So  you  may  believe,  now.  But  the  knowledge  that 
you  could  change  would  be  death  to  me  —  a  death 
to  die  daily.  Yes,  I  tell  you  again,  it  was  an  insult  to 
offer  a  lot  so  miserable,  so  contemptible,  to  a  woman 

you  profess  to  love.  How  could  you  do  it  ?  If  only  you 

[195] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
had  never  spoken  the  hateful  words !  If  only  you  had 
left  me  the  ideal  I  had  of  you  —  noble,  glorious,  above 
the  whole  world  of  men.  But  after  all  you  are  selfish, 
—  cruel.  If  you  had  said  'I  love  you,  yet  we  must 
part,  for  Duty  stands  between  us.'  I  could  — but  no, 
I  can  never  tell  you  now  what  I  could  have  answered 
if  you  had  said  that,  instead  of  breaking  my  heart." 

Under  the  fire  of  her  reproach  he  stood  still,  his  lips 
tight,  his  shoulders  braced,  as  if  he  held  his  breast 
open  for  the  knife. 

"By  Heaven,  it  is  you  who  are  cruel,"  he  said  at 
last.  "  How  can  I  make  you  see  your  injustice  ?" 

"In  no  way.  There's  nothing  more  to  be  said  be 
tween  us  two  after  this,  except  —  good-by." 

"  It  shall  not  be  good-by." 

"It  must.  I  wish  it." 

He  had  caught  her  dress  as  she  turned  to  go,  but 
now  he  released  her.  "  You  wish  it  ?  It's  not  true  that 
you  love  me,  then  ?  " 

"  It  was  true.  Everything  —  everything  in  my  whole 
life  —  is  changed  from  this  hour.  It  would  be  better 
if  I'd  never  seen  you.  Good-by." 


[196] 


CHAPTER  XI 
THE  MAN  WHO  WAITED 

SHE   ran  from  him,  along  the   moonlit   path.. 
One  step  he  took  as  if  to  follow  and  keep  her, 
but  checked  himself  and  let  her  go.  Only  his 
eyes  went  with  her,  and  in  them  there  was  more  of 
pain  than  anger,  though  never  before  in  all  his  life, 
perhaps,  had  he  been  thwarted  in  any  strong  desire. 
Passion  urged  him  forward,  but  pride  held  him  back; 
for  Leopold  was  a  proud  man,  and  to  have  his  love 
thrown  in  his  face,  was  to  receive  an  icy  douche  with 
the  blood  at  fever  heat. 

For  this  girl's  sake  he  had  in  a  few  days  changed 
the  habits  of  a  lifetime.  Pride,  reserve,  self-control, 
the  wish  not  only  to  appear,  but  to  be  a  man,  above 
the  frailties  of  common  men,  the  ambition  to  be 
placed,  and  worthily  placed,  on  a  pedestal  by  his 
subjects;  all  these  he  had  thrown  away  for  Helen 
Mowbray. 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
He  was  too  just  a  man  not  to  admit  that,  if  one  of 
his  Royal  cousins  of  younger  branches,  had  con 
templated  such  folly  as  this,  he  would  have  done  his 
best  to  nip  that  folly  while  it  was  in  bud.  "  He  jests 
at  scars  who  never  felt  a  wound  " ;  and  until  Leopold 
had  learned  by  his  own  unlooked-for  experi 
ence  what  love  can  mean,  what  men  will  do  for 
love  while  the  sweet  madness  is  on  them,  he  would 
have  been  utterly  unable  to  understand  the  state 
of  mind. 

A  cousin  inclined  to  act  as  he  was  now  bent  on 
acting,  would  but  a  month  ago  have  found  all  the 
Emperor's  influence,  even  force  perhaps,  brought  to 
bear  in  restraining  him.  Leopold  saw  the  change  in 
himself,  was  startled  and  shamed  by  it;  nevertheless 
he  would  have  persevered,  trampling  down  every 
obstacle  that  rose  in  his  way,  if  only  the  girl  had  seen 
things  with  his  eyes. 

She  had  accused  him  of  insulting  her,  not  stopping 
to  consider  that,  even  to  make  her  morganatically  his 
wife,  he  must  give  great  cause  for  complaint  not  only 
to  his  ministers  but  to  his  people.  For  he  was  expected 
to  marry  a  girl  of  Royal  blood,  that  the  country  might 
have  an  heir.  If  Helen  Mowbray  had  accepted  the 
[198] 


THE    MAN    WHO    WAITED 
position  he  offered  her,  he  could  never  have  broken 
her  heart  by  making  another  marriage. 

Not  only  would  it  be  difficult  in  these  days  to  find  a 
Princess  willing  to  tolerate  such  a  rival,  but  it  would 
have  been  impossible  for  him  to  desecrate  the  bond 
between  himself  and  the  one  adored  woman. 

This  being  the  case,  with  Helen  Mowbray  as  his 
morganatic  wife,  there  could  be  no  direct  heir  to  the 
throne.  At  his  death,  the  son  of  his  uncle,  the  Arch 
duke  Joseph,  would  succeed;  and  during  his  life  the 
popularity  which  was  dear  to  him  would  be  hopelessly 
forfeited.  Rhaetia  would  never  forgive  him  for  selfish 
ly  preferring  his  own  private  happiness  to  the  good  of 
the  nation. 

He  could  fancy  how  old  Iron  Heart  von  Breitstein 
would  present  this  point  of  view  to  him,  with  fierce 
eloquence,  temples  throbbing  like  the  ticking  of  a 
watch,  eyes  netted  with  bloodshot  veins.  But  on  the 
other  hand  he  could  picture  himself  standing  calmly 
to  face  the  storm,  steadfast  in  his  own  indomitable 
will,  happy  with  love  to  uphold  him. 

But  now,  the  will  which  had  borne  him  through 
life  in  a  triumphal  march,  had  been  powerless  against 
that  of  this  young  girl.  She  would  have  none  of  him. 
[199J 


THE   PRINCESS   VIRGINIA 
A  woman  whose  face  was  her  fortune,  whose  place  in 
life  was  hardly  as  high  as  the  first  step  of  a  throne, 
had  refused  —  an  Emperor. 

Hardly  could  Leopold  believe  the  thing  that  had 
happened  to  him.  He  had  spoken  of  doubting  that  he 
had  won  her  love;  and  he  had  doubted.  But  he  had 
allowed  himself  to  hope,  because  he  had  confidence 
in  his  Star,  and  because,  perhaps,  it  had  scarcely 
been  known  in  the  annals  of  history  that  an  Emperor's 
suit  should  be  repulsed. 

Besides,  he  had  loved  the  girl  so  passionately,  that 
it  seemed  she  could  not  remain  cold.  And  he  hoped 
still  that,  when  she  had  passed  a  long  night  in  reflec 
tion,  in  thinking  over  the  situation,  perhaps  taking 
counsel  with  that  comparatively  commonplace  yet 
practical  little  lady,  her  mother,  she  might  be  ready  to 
change  her  mind. 

For  the  first  few  moments  after  the  stinging  rebuff 
he  had  endured,  Leopold  felt  that,  if  she  did,  it  would 
'  be  her  turn  to  suffer,  for  he  could  never  humble  him 
self  to  implore  for  the  second  time.  But,  as  he  stood 
in  the  soft  stillness  of  the  night,  gazing  towards  the 
lights  of  the  house,  thoughts  of  Virginia  —  her  youth, 
her  sweetness,  her  beauty  dimmed  with  grief, —  over- 
[200] 


THE    MAN    WHO    WAITED 
whelmed  him.  Could  he  have  reached  her,  he  would 
have  fallen  on  his  knees,  and  kissed  her  gown. 

By  and  by  a  vast  tenderness  breathed  its  calm  over 
the  thwarted  passion  in  his  breast,  and  plans  to  win 
her  back  came  whispering  in  his  ear.  He  would  write 
a  letter  and  send  it  to  her  room.  But  no;  perhaps  it 
would  be  wise  to  give  her  a  longer  interval  for  reflec 
tion  and  —  it  might  be  —  regret.  To-morrow  he 
would  see  her  and  show  all  the  depths  of  that  great 
love  which  she  had  thought  to  throw  away.  She  could 
not  go  on  withstanding  him  forever;  and  now  that 
he  had  burned  his  boats  behind  him,  he  would 
never  think  of  turning  back.  He  would  persevere  till  she 
should  yield. 

Meanwhile  Virginia  had  hurried  blindly  toward 
the  house,  and  it  was  instinct  rather  than  intention 
that  led  her  to  the  open  window  of  the  music  room, 
by  which  she  had  come  out. 

Tears  burned  her  eyelids,  but  they  did  not  fall 
until  she  stood  once  more  in  the  room  where  she  and 
Leopold  had  been  happy  together.  There  she  had  sat 
at  the  piano,  and  he  had  bent  over  her,  love  in  his 
eyes  —  honest  love,  she  had  thought,  her  heart  full  of 
thanksgiving.  How  little  she  had  guessed  then  the 
[201] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
humiliation  in  store  for  her,  and  the  end  of  all  her 
hopes !  How  could  she  bear  her  pain,  and  how  could 
she  go  on  living  out  her  life  ? 

She  paused  in  the  window  niche,  looking  into  the 
room  through  a  mist  of  tears,  and  a  sob  choked  her. 
"  Cruel  —  cruel,"  she  whispered.  "  What  agony  — 
what  an  insult ! " 

Then,  dashing  away  her  tears,  she  pushed  back  the 
dark  curtain,  and  would  have  passed  on  into  the 
room,  had  not  the  quick  gesture  brought  her  arm  into 
contact  with  the  buttons  and  gold  braid  on  a  man's 
breast. 

Instantly  she  realized  that  some  one  was  hiding 
there  —  some  one  dressed  in  a  military  coat;  and  her 
first  impulse  was  for  flight  —  anything  to  escape, 
unrecognized.  But  on  second  thoughts  she  changed 
her  mind. 

Whoever  it  was  had  in  all  probability  hidden  him 
self  for  the  purpose  of  spying,  and  was  already  aware 
that  Miss  Mowbray  had  rushed  into  the  house  weep 
ing,  after  a  tete-a-tete  with  the  Emperor  in  the  garden. 
Perhaps  he  had  even  caught  a  word  or  two  of  her 
sobbing  ejaculation.  No,  she  must  not  run  away,  and 
leave  the  outcome  of  this  affair  to  chance.  She  must 
[202] 


THE    MAN    WHO    WAITED 
see  with  whom  she  had  to  deal,  that  she  might  know 
what  was  best  to  do. 

She  had  taken  a  step  into  the  room,  but  quick  as 
light  she  turned,  pulled  away  the  screen  of  curtain 
and  faced  Captain  von  Breitstein. 

It  was  a  trying  moment  for  him,  and  the  girl's  look 
stripped  him  of  all  his  light  audacity.  She  had  come 
to  the  window  by  a  different  path  from  the  one  he  had 
watched,  therefore  she  had  taken  him  unawares, 
before  he  had  time  to  escape,  as  he  had  planned.  He 
was  caught  fairly,  and  must  save  himself  as  best  he 
could  without  preparation. 

If  her  reproach  forestalled  his  excuse,  he  was 
lost.  He  must  step  into  the  breach  at  whatever  risk. 
No  time  to  weigh  words;  he  must  let  loose  the  first 
that  sprang  to  his  lips. 

"  I  see  what  you  think  of  me,"  he  said.  "  I  see  you 
think  I  was  watching  you.  I  swear  I  wasn't,  though 
I  knew  you  were  in  the  garden  with  —  the  Emperor. 
Wait  —  you  must  listen.  You  must  hear  my  justifica 
tion.  I  was  sent  to  this  room  to  fetch  you.  For  your 
sake,  how  could  I  go  back  and  say  you  had  disap 
peared  —  together  ?  I  looked  out  into  the  garden  and 
saw  you  —  with  him.  I  saw  from  your  manner 
[203] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
that  —  he  had  made  you  suffer.  I  was  half  mad  with 
rage,  guessing  —  guessing  something  which  one  word 
you  let  drop  as  you  came  in,  told  me  had  happened. 
He  is  my  sovereign,  but  —  he  has  insulted  you.  Let 
me  be  your  knight,  as  in  days  of  old.  Let  me  defend 
you,  for  I  love  you.  I  waited  here  to  tell  you  this,  as 
you  came,  so  that,  if  you  would,  we  might  announce 
an  engagement  — 

If  Virginia's  eyes  had  been  daggers,  he  would  have 
fallen  at  her  feet,  pierced  to  the  heart.  For  one  long 
second  she  looked  at  him  without  speaking,  her  face 
eloquent.  Then  she  went  by  him  with  the  proud  bear 
ing  of  a  queen. 

Egon  was  stricken  dumb.  Dully  he  watched  her 
move  across  the  room  to  a  door  which  led  into  a 
corridor.  He  heard  the  whisper  of  her  satin  dress, 
and  saw  the  changing  lights  and  shadows  on  its 
creamy  folds,  under  the  crystal  chandeliers;  he  saw 
the  white  reflection,  like  a  spirit,  mirrored  deep  under 
the  polished  surface  of  the  floor. 

Never  had  she  been  more  beautiful;  but  she  was 

beautiful  in  his  eyes  no  longer.  He  had  hurt  her  pride ; 

but  she  had  stabbed  his  vanity;  and  to  wound  Egon 

von  Breitstein's  vanity  was  to  strike  at  his  life.  He 

[204] 


THE    MAN    WHO    WAITED 

hated  the  girl,  hated  her  so  sharply  that  his  nerves 
ached  with  the  intensity  of  his  hatred;  and  the  only 
relief  he  could  have  would  be  through  reprisal. 

He  had  not  been  able  to  deceive  her.  She  knew  that 
he  had  been  spying,  and  it  was  fortunate  for  his 
future,  he  realized  already,  that  she  had  broken  with 
the  Emperor.  He  must  do  all  he  could,  and  do  it 
quickly,  to  prevent  a  reconciliation,  lest  she  should 
work  him  injury. 

As  for  his  hastily  stammered  proposal,  it  was  a 
good  thing  that  the  girl  had  not  taken  him  at  his  word, 
for  the  Chancellor  had  not  given  him  permission  to 
speak,  and  if  she  had  accepted  him,  he  might  have 
had  to  wriggle  out  of  his  engagement.  Still,  he  could 
not  forgive  her  scorn  of  him. 

"  Lorenz  shall  help  me  to  pay  her  for  this ! "  he  said 
furiously  to  himself,  too  angry  to  mourn  over  lost 
hopes,  lost  opportunities.  "He  will  know  how  to 
punish  her.  And  between  us  she  shall  suffer." 


[205] 


CHAPTER  XII 
"THE     EMPEROR     WILL    UNDERSTAND" 

IT  was  for  refuge  that  the  Princess  fled  to  her  own 
room. 
A  boudoir  shared  by  the  Grand  Duchess  ad 
joined  it,  and  entering  there,  to  her  dismay  the  girl 
saw  her  mother  lying  on  a  sofa,  attended  by  Ernestine, 
the  French  maid. 

Virginia's  heart  sank.  She  had  supposed  the  Grand 
Duchess  to  be  in  the  white  drawing-room  with  the 
Baroness,  and  the  other  guests  of  the  house.  Now 
there  was  no  hope  that  she  might  be  left  alone  and 
unquestioned.  And  the  girl  had  longed  to  be  alone. 

"  At  last ! "  exclaimed  a  faint  voice  from  the  sofa. 
"I  thought  you  would  never  come." 

The  Princess  stared,  half-dazed,  unable  yet  to  tear 
her  mind  from  her  private  griefs.  "Are  you  ill, 
Mother  ?  "  she  stammered.  "  Had  you  sent  for  me  ?  " 

"I  came  very  near  fainting  in  the  drawing-room," 
[206] 


"THE     EMPEROR     WILL    UNDERSTAND" 

the  Grand  Duchess  answered.  "  Ernestine,  you  may 
leave  us  now." 

The  French  woman  went  out  noiselessly. 

Still  Virginia  did  not  speak.  Could  it  be  that  there 
had  been  another  spy,  beside  Egon  von  Breitstein, 
and  that  her  mother  already  knew  how  the  castle  of 
cards  had  fallen  ?  Was  it  the  news  of  defeat  which 
had  prostrated  her  ? 

"  Have  you  —  did  any  one  tell  you  ?  "  the  girl 
faltered. 

"  I've  had  a  telegram  —  a  horrible  telegram.  Oh, 
Virginia,  I  am  not  young,  as  you  are.  I  am  too  old  to 
endure  all  this.  I  think  you  should  not  have  subjected 
me  to  it." 

The  Grand  Duchess's  voice  was  plaintive,  and 
pried  among  the  girl's  sick  nerves,  like  hot  wire. 

"  What  do  you  mean,  dear  ?  I  don't  understand," 
she  said,  dully.  "I'm  so  sorry  you  are  ill.  If  it's  my 
fault  in  any  way,  I  — " 

Her  mother  pointed  toward  a  writing  table.  "  The 
telegram  is  there,"  she  murmured.  "  It  is  too  distress 
ing  —  too  humiliating." 

Virginia  picked  up  a  crumpled  telegraph  form  and 
began  to  read  the  message,  which  was  dated  London 
[207] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
and  written  in  English.  "  Some  one  making  inquiries 
here  about  the  Mowbrays.  Beg  to  advise  you  to  ex 
plain  all  at  once,  or  leave  Kronburg,  to  avoid  almost 
certain  complications.  Lambert." 

Lady  Lambert  was  the  wife  of  the  ex-Ambassador 
to  the  Court  of  Rhaetia  from  Great  Britain. 

The  Princess  finished  in  silence. 

"Isn't  it  hideous?"  asked  the  Grand  Duchess. 
"To  think  that  you  and  I  should  have  deliberately 
placed  ourselves  in  such  a  position !  We  are  to  run 
away,  like  detected  adventuresses,  unless  —  unless 
you  are  now  ready  to  tell  the  Emperor  all." 

"No,"  said  Virginia,  hopelessly. 

"  What !  Not  yet  ?  Oh,  my  dear,  then  you  must 
bring  matters  to  a  crisis  —  instantly  —  to-night  even. 
It's  evident  that  some  enemy  —  perhaps  some  jealous 
person  —  has  been  at  work  behind  our  backs.  It  is 
for  you  to  turn  the  tables  upon  him,  and  there  isn't 
an  hour  to  waste.  From  the  first,  you  meant  to  make 
some  dramatic  revelation.  Now,  the  time  has  come." 

"  Ah,  I  meant  —  I  meant ! "  echoed  Virginia,  with 

a  sob  breaking  the  ice  in  her  voice.    "Nothing  has 

turned  out  as  I  meant.  You  were  right,  dear;  I  was 

wrong.  We  ought  never  to  have  come  to  Rhaetia." 

[208] 


«THE     EMPEROR    WILL    UNDERSTAND" 

The  Grand  Duchess  grew  paler  than  before.  She 
had  been  vaguely  distressed.  Now,  she  was  sharply 
alarmed.  If  Virginia  admitted  that  this  great  adven 
ture  should  never  have  been  undertaken,  then  indeed 
the  earth  must  be  quaking  under  their  feet. 

"Ought  not  —  to  have  come?"  she  repeated, 
piteously.  "  What  dreadful  thing  has  happened  ?  " 

The  Princess  stood  with  bent  head.  "  It's  hard  to 
tell,"  she  said,  "  harder,  almost,  than  anything  I  ever 
had  to  do.  But  it  must  be  done.  Everything's  at  an 
end,  dear." 

"  What  —  you've  told  him,  and  he  has  refused  to 
forgive  ?  " 

"He  knows  nothing." 

"For  Heaven's  sake,  don't  keep  me  in  sus 
pense." 

Virginia's  lips  were  dry.  "He  asked  me  to  be  his 
wife,"  she  said.  "  Oh,  wait  —  wait !  Don't  look  happy. 
You  don't  understand,  and  I  didn't,  at  first.  He  had 
to  explain  and  —  he  put  the  thing  as  little  offensively 
as  he  could.  Oh,  Mother,  he  thinks  me  only  good 
enough  to  be  his  morganatic  wife!" 

The  storm  had  burst  at  last,  and  the  Princess  fell 
on  her  knees  by  the  sofa  where,  burying  her  face  in 
[209] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
her  mother's  lap,  she  sobbed  as  if  parting  with  her 
youth. 

There  had  always  been  mental  and  temperamental 
barriers  between  the  Dresden  china  lady  and  her 
daughter;  but  they  loved  each  other,  and  never  had 
the  girl  been  so  dear  to  her  mother  as  now.  The  Grand 
Duchess  thought  of  the  summer  day  when  Virginia 
had  knelt  beside  her,  saying,  "  We  are  going  to  have 
an  adventure,  you  and  I." 

Alas,  the  adventure  was  over,  and  summer  and 
hope  were  dead.  Tears  trembled  in  the  mother's  eyes. 
Poor  little  Virginia,  so  young,  so  inexperienced,  and, 
in  spite  of  her  self-will  and  recklessness,  so  sweet  and 
loving  withal ! 

"But,  dear,  but,  you  are  making  the  worst  of 
things,"  the  Grand  Duchess  said  soothingly,  her 
hand  on  the  girl's  bright  hair.  "  Why,  instead  of  crying 
you  ought  to  be  smiling,  I  think.  Leopold  must  love 
you  desperately,  or  he  would  never  have  proposed 
marriage  —  even  morganatic  marriage.  Just  at  first, 
the  idea  must  have  shocked  you  —  knowing  who  you 
are.  But  remember,  if  you  were  Miss  Mowbray,  it 
would  have  been  a  triumph.  Many  women  of  high 
position  have  married  Royalty  morgana tically,  and 
[210] 


"THE  EMPEROR  WILL  UNDERSTAND" 
every  one  has  respected  them.  You  seem  to  forget  that 
the  Emperor  knows  you  only  as  Helen  Mowbray.' 
"He  ought  to  have  known  that  Helen  Mowbray 
was  not  the  girl  to  consent  —  no,  not  more  easily  than 
Virginia  of  Baumenburg-Drippe.  He  should  have 
understood  without  telling,  that  to  a  girl  with  Anglo- 
Saxon  blood  in  her  veins  such  an  offer  would  be  like 
a  blow  over  the  heart." 

"How  should  he  understand?  He  is  Rhaetian. 
His  point  of  view  - 

"  His  point  of  view  to  me  is  terrible.  Oh,  Mother, 
it's1  useless  to  argue.  Everything  is  spoiled.  Of  course 
if  he  knew  I  was  Princess  Virginia,  he  would  be 
sorry  for  what  he  had  proposed,  even  if  he  thought 
I'd  brought  it  on  myself.  But  then,  it  wouli  be  too 
late.  Don't  you  understand,  I  valued  his  love  because 
it  was  given  to  me,  not  the  Princess  ?  If  he  said, '  Now 
I  know  you,  I  can  offer  my  right  hand  instead  of  my 
left,  to  you  as  my  wife/  that  would  not  be  the  same 
thing  at  all.  No,  there's  nothing  left  but  to  go  home; 
and  the  Emperor  of  Rhaetia  must  be  told  that  Vir 
ginia  of  Baumenburg-Drippe  has  decided  not  to 
marry.  That  will  be  our  one  revenge  —  but  a  pitiful 
one,  since  he'll  never  know  that  the  Princess  who 
[211] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

refuses  his  right  hand  and  the  Helen  Mowbray  who 
wouldn't  take  his  left,  are  one  and  the  same.  Oh 
Mother,  I  did  love  him  so !  Let  us  get  out  of  this  hate 
ful  house  as  soon  as  we  can." 

The  Grand  Duchess  knew  her  daughter,  and 
abandoned  hope.  "  Yes,  if  you  will  not  forgive  him ; 
we  must  go  at  once,  and  save  our  dignity  if  we  can," 
she  said.  "The  telegram  will  give  us  our  excuse.  I 
told  the  Baroness  I  had  received  bad  news,  and  she 
asked  permission  to  knock  at  my  door  before  going 
to  bed,  and  inquire  how  I  was  feeling.  She  may  come 
at  any  moment.  We  must  say  that  the  telegram  re 
calls  us  immediately  to  England." 

"  Listen ! "  whispered  Virginia.  "  I  think  there's 
some  one  at  the  door  now." 

Baroness  von  Lyndal  stood  aghast  on  hearing  that 
she  was  to  be  deserted  early  in  the  morning  by  the 
bright,  particular  star  of  her  house  party  —  after  the 
Emperor.  She  begged  that  Lady  Mowbray  would 
reconsider;  that  she  would  wire  to  England,  instead  of 
going,  or  at  all  events  that  she  would  wait  for  one 
day  more,  until  Leopold's  visit  to  Schloss  Lyndalberg 
should  be  over. 

In  her  anxiety,  she  even  failed  in  tact,  when  she 
[212] 


"THE    E.MPEROR    WILL    UNDERSTAND" 

found  arguments  useless.  "  But  the  Emperor  ?  "  she 
objected.  "  If  you  go  off  early  in  the  morning,  before 
he  or  any  one  comes  down,  what  will  he  think,  what 
will  he  say  at  being  cheated  out  of  his  au  revoir  ?  " 

The  Grand  Duchess  hesitated;  but  Virginia  an 
swered  firmly  "  I  said  good-by  to  him  to-night.  The 
Emperor  —  will  understand." 


[213] 


CHAPTER  XIII 
THE    MAGIC     CITRON 

BREAKFAST  at  Schloss  Lyndalberg  was  an 
informal  meal,  under  the  reign  of  Mechtilde. 
Those  who  were  sociably  inclined,  appeared. 
Those  who  loved  not  their  species  until  the  day  was 
older,  ate  in  their  rooms. 

Leopold  had  shown  himself  at  the  table  each 
morning,  however,  and  set  the  fashion.  And  the  day 
after  the  parting  in  the  garden,  he  was  earlier  even 
than  usual.  It  was  easy  to  be  early,  as  he  had  not  been 
to  bed  that  night;  but  he  had  an  extra  incentive.  He 
could  scarcely  wait  to  see  how  Helen  Mowbray  would 
meet  him;  whether  she  would  still  be  cold,  or  whether 
sound  advice  from  her  mother  would  have  made  her 
kind. 

This  was  his  last  day  at  Lyndalberg.  By  his  spe 
cial  request  no  program  of  entertainment  had  been 
arranged;   and   before   coming   down   to   breakfast 
[214] 


THE    MAGIC    CRITON 

Leopold  had  been  turning  over  in  his  mind  plan  after 
plan  for  another  chance  of  meeting  the  girl  alone. 
He  had  even  written  a  letter,  but  had  torn  it  up,  be 
cause  he  was  unable  to  say  on  paper  what  was  really 
in  his  heart. 

Breakfast  passed,  however,  and  when  she  did  not 
appear,  Leopold  grew  restless.  He  did  not  ask  for  her 
before  the  others ;  but  when  he  and  the  Baroness  had 
strolled  out  together  on  the  terrace,  where  white  pea 
cocks  spread  their  jeweled  tails,  the  Emperor  sought 
some  opportunity  of  bringing  in  the  name  that  filled 
his  thoughts. 

"I  see  the  red  October  lilies  are  opening,"  he  said. 
"  Miss  Mowbray  will  be  interested.  She  tells  me  there's 
nothing  like  them  in  England." 

"Ah,  she  has  gone  just  too  soon!"  sighed  the 
Baroness. 

The  Emperor  glanced  quickly  from  the  mass  of 
crimson  flowers,  to  his  hostess's  face.  "  Gone  ? "  he 
repeated. 

"Yes,"  the  Baroness  answered.  "They  must  have 

reached  Kronburg  before  this.  You  know,  they  left 

their  companion  there.  Perhaps  your  Majesty  did  not 

realize  that  they  were  leaving  here  quite  so  early  ?  " 

[215] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

He  turned  so  white  under  the  brown  tan  the  moun 
tains  had  given,  that  the  Baroness  was  alarmed.  She 
had  taken  Virginia's  words  as  Virginia  had  meant  her 
to  take  them,  and  therefore  supposed  that  a  formal 
farewell  of  some  sort  had  been  spoken.  This  impres 
sion  did  not  prevent  her  from  guessing  that  there 
must  have  been  a  misunderstanding,  and  she  was 
tingling  with  a  lively  curiosity  which  she  was  obliged 
carefully  to  hide. 

The  romance  which  had  been  enacted  under  her 
eyes  she  believed  to  be  largely  of  her  own  making; 
and,  not  being  a  bad-hearted  woman,  she  had  grown 
fond  of  Virginia.  She  had  even  had  pangs  of  con 
science;  and  though  she  could  not  see  the  way  for  a 
happy  ending  to  the  pretty  drama,  it  distressed  her 
that  the  curtain  should  go  down  on  sadness. 

"I  did  not  know  they  were  going  at  all,"  Leopold 
answered  frankly,  willing  to  sacrifice  his  pride  for  the 
sake  of  coming  quickly  at  the  truth. 

"  Oh !"  exclaimed  the  Baroness.  "  I  am  distressed ! 
Miss  Mowbray  distinctly  said,  when  I  begged  that 
they  would  wait,  'the  Emperor  will  understand.'" 

"  I  do  understand  —  now  I  know  they  have  gone," 
he  admitted.  "  But  —  Miss  Mowbray  thinks  she  has 
[216] 


THE    MAGIC    CITRON 

some  cause  of  complaint  against  me,  and  she's  mis 
taken.  I  can't  let  such  a  mistake  go  uncorrected.  You 
say  they  must  be  at  Kronburg  before  this.  Are  they 
staying  on  there  ?  " 

"  I'm  afraid  not,  your  Majesty.  They  leave  Kron 
burg  for  England  to-day  by  the  Orient  Express." 

"Do  you  happen  to  remember  at  what  hour  the 
train  starts  ?  " 

"I  believe  at  twelve." 

Leopold  pulled  out  his  watch.  It  was  twenty 
minutes  past  eleven.  Forty  times  sixty  seconds,  and 
the  girl  would  be  gone. 

The  blood  rushed  to  his  face.  Barring  accidents,  he 
could  catch  her  if  he  ordered  his  motor-car,  and  left  at 
once.  But  to  cut  short  his  visit  at  Schloss  Lyndalberg, 
would  be  virtually  to  take  the  world  into  his  secret. 
Let  him  allege  important  state  business  at  the  capital, 
if  he  chose,  gossip  would  still  say  that  the  girl  had 
fled,  that  he  had  pursued  her.  The  Baroness  knew 
already;  others  would  chatter  as  if  they  knew;  that 
was  inevitable  —  if  he  went. 

A  month  ago  (when  yielding  to  inclination  meant 
humbling  his  pride  as  Emperor  and  man),  such  a 
question  would  have  answered  itself.  Now,  it  an- 
[217] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

swered  itself  also,  the  only  difference  being  that  the 
answer  was  exactly  opposite  to  what  it  would  have 
been  a  month  earlier. 

"  Baroness,  forgive  me,"  he  said  quickly.  "  I  must 
go.  I  can't  explain." 

"You  need  not  try,"  she  answered  him,  softly. 

"  Thank  you,  a  hundred  times.  Make  everything  as 
straight  for  me  as  you  can.  Say  what  you  will.  I  give 
you  carte  blanche,  for  we're  old  friends,  and  I  trust 
you." 

"  It's  for  me  to  thank  your  Majesty.  You  want  your 
motor-car  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"  I'll  telephone.  Your  chauffeur  will  have  it  here  in 
six  minutes.  And  your  aide-de-camp.  Will  you  - 

"I  don't  want  him,  thanks.  I'd  rather  go  alone." 

Seven  minutes  later  the  big  white  motor-car  was  at 
the  door  which  was  the  private  entrance  to  the  Em 
peror's  suite;  and  the  Emperor  was  waiting  for  it, 
having  forgotten  all  about  the  sable-lined  coat  which 
had  been  a  present  from  the  Czar.  If  it  had  been 
mid-winter,  he  would  have  forgotten,  just  the  same; 
nor  would  he  have  known  that  it  was  cold. 

There  was  plenty  of  time  now  to  carry  out  his  plan, 
[218] 


THE    MAGIC    CITRON 

which  was  to  catch  the  Orient  Express  at  the  Kron- 
burg  station,  and  present  himself  to  the  Mowbrays 
in  the  train,  later.  As  to  what  would  happen  after 
wards,  it  was  beyond  planning;  but  Leopold  knew 
that  the  girl  had  loved  him;  and  he  hoped  that  he 
would  have  Lady  Mowbray  on  his  side. 

The  only  way  of  reaching  Kronburg  from  Schloss 
Lyndalberg  was  by  road;  there  was  no  railway  con 
nection  between  the  two  places.  But  the  town  and  the 
castle  were  separated  by  a  short  eight  miles,  and 
until  checked  by  traffic  in  the  suburbs,  the  sixty  horse 
power  car  could  cover  a  mile  in  less  than  two  minutes. 

Unfortunately,  however,  police  regulations  were 
strict,  and  of  this  Leopold  could  not  complain,  as  he 
had  approved  them  himself.  Once,  he  was  stopped, 
vand  would  certainly  not  have  been  allowed  to  pro 
ceed,  had  he  not  revealed  himself  as  the  Emperor,  the 
owner  of  the  one  unnumbered  car  in  Rhaetia.  As  it 
was,  he  had  suffered  a  delay  of  five  minutes;  and  just 
as  he  was  congratulating  himself  on  the  goodness  of 
his  tires,  which  had  made  him  no  trouble  for  many 
weeks,  a  loud  report  as  of  a  pistol  shot  gave  warning 
of  a  puncture. 

But  there  was  not  a  moment  to  waste  on  repairs, 
[219] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
Leopold  drove  on,  on  the  rims,  only  to  acknowledge 
presently  the  truth  of  an  old  proverb,  "  the  more  haste 
the  less  speed." 

Delayed  by  a  torn  and  flapping  tire,  the  car  arrived 
at  the  big  Central  Station  of  Kronburg  only  five 
minutes  before  twelve.  Leopold  dashed  in,  careless 
whether  he  were  recognized  or  no,  and  was  surprised 
at  the  absence  of  the  crowd  which  usually  throngs  the 
platform  before  the  departure  of  the  most  important 
train  of  the  day. 

"  Is  the  Orient  Express  late  ?  "  he  asked  of  an  in 
spector  to  whom  he  was  but  a  man  among  other  men. 

"  No,  sir.  Just  on  time.  Went  out  five  minutes  ago." 

"But  it  isn't  due  to  start  till  twelve." 

"  Summer  time-table,  sir.  Autumn  time-table  takes 
effect  to-day,  the  first  of  October.  Orient  Express 
departure  changed  to  eleven-fifty." 

An  unreasoning  rage  against  fate  boiled  in  the 
Emperor's  breast.  He  ruled  this  country,  yet  every 
thing  in  it  seemed  to  conspire  in  a  plot  to  wreck  his 
dearest  desires. 

For  a  few  seconds  he  stood  speechless,  feeling  as  if 
he  had  been  dashed  against  a  blank  wall,  and  there 
were  no  way  of  getting  round  it.   Yet   the  seconds 
[220] 


THE    MAGIC    CITRON 

were  but  few,  for  Leopold  was  not  a  man  of  slow 
decisions. 

His  first  step  was  to  inquire  the  name  of  the  town 
at  which  the  Orient  Express  stopped  soonest.  In 
three  hours,  he  learnt,  it  would  reach  Felgarde,  the 
last  station  on  the  Rhaetian  side  of  the  frontier. 

His  first  thought  on  hearing  this  was  to  engage  a 
special,  and  follow;  but  even  in  these  days  there  is 
much  red  tape  entangled  with  railway  regulations  in 
Rhaetia.  It  soon  appeared  that  it  would  be  quicker  to 
take  the  next  train  to  Felgarde,  which  was  due  to 
leave  in  half  an  hour,  and  would  arrive  only  an  hour 
later  than  the  Orient  Express. 

Leopold's  heart  was  chilled,  but  he  shook  off  des 
pondency  and  would  not  be  discouraged.  Telephon 
ing  to  the  hotel  where  the  Mowbrays  had  been 
stopping,  he  learned  that  they  had  gone.  Then 
he  wrote  out  a  telegram:  "Miss  Helen  Mowbray, 
Traveling  from  Kronburg  to  Paris  by  Orient  Ex 
press,  Care  of  Station-master  at  Felgarde.  I  implore 
you  leave  the  train  at  Felgarde  and  wait  for  me.  Am 
following  in  all  haste.  Will  arrive  Felgarde  one  hour 
after  you,  and  hope  to  find  you  at  Leopoldhof."  So 
far  the  wording  was  simple.  He  had  signified  his 
[221] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
intention  and  expressed  his  wish,  which  would  have 
been  more  than  enough  to  assure  the  accomplishment 
of  his  purpose,  had  he  been  dealing  with  a  subject. 
Unfortunately,  however,  Helen  Mowbray  was  not  a 
subject,  and  had  exhibited  no  sign  of  subjection. 
It  was  therefore  futile  to  prophesy  whether  or  no 
she  would  choose  to  grant  his  request. 

Revolving  the  pros  and  cons  he  was  forced  to  con 
clude  that  she  probably  would  not  grant  it  —  unless 
he  had  some  new  argument  to  bring  forward.  Yet 
what  had  he  to  urge  that  he  had  not  already  urged 
twice  over  ?  What  could  he  say  at  this  eleventh  hour 
which  would  not  only  induce  her  to  await  his  coming 
at  Felgarde,  but  justify  him  in  making  a  last  appeal 
when  he  came  to  explain  it  in  person  ? 

As  he  stood  pen  in  hand,  suddenly  he  found  him 
self  recalling  a  fairy  story  which  he  had  never  tired 
of  reading  in  his  childhood.  Under  the  disguise  of 
fancy,  it  was  a  lesson  against  vacillation,  and  he  had 
often  said  to  himself  as  a  boy,  that  when  he  grew  up, 
he  would  not,  like  the  Prince  of  the  story,  miss  a  gift 
of  the  gods  through  weak  hesitation. 

The  pretty  legend  in  his  mind  had  for  a  hero  a 
young  prince  who  went  abroad  to  seek  his  fortune, 
[222] 


THE    MAGIC    CITRON 

and  received  from  one  of  the  Fates  to  whom  he  paid 
a  visit,  three  magic  citrons  which  he  must  cut  open 
by  the  side  of  a  certain  fountain.  He  obeyed  his  in 
structions;  but  when  from  the  first  citron  sprang  an 
exquisite  fairy  maiden,  demanding  a  drink  of  water, 
the  young  man  lost  his  presence  of  mind.  While  he 
sat  staring,  the  lovely  lady  vanished;  and  with  a 
second  experiment  it  was  the  same.  Only  the  third 
citron  remained  of  the  Fates'  squandered  gifts,  and 
when  the  Prince  cut  it  in  half,  the  maiden  who  ap 
peared  was  so  much  more  beautiful  than  her  sisters, 
that  in  adoring  wonder  he  almost  lost  her  as  he  had 
lost  the  others. 

"My  knife  is  on  the  rind  of  the  last  citron  now," 
Leopold  said  to  himself.  "  Let  me  not  lose  the  one 
chance  I  have  left." 

Last  night  he  had  believed  that  there  would  not  be 
room  in  a  man's  heart  for  more  love  than  his  held  for 
Helen  Mowbray;  but  realizing  to  the  full  how  great 
was  the  danger  of  losing  her,  he  found  that  his  love 
had  grown  beyond  reckoning. 

He  had  thought  it  a  sacrifice  to  suggest  a  morgan 
atic  marriage.  Now,  a  voice  seemed  to  say  in  his  ear, 
"  The  price  you  offered  was  not  enough.  Is  love  worth 
[223] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
all  to  you  or  not  ?  "  And  he  answered,  "  It  is  worth  all. 
I  will  offer  all,  yet  not  count  it  a  sacrifice.  That  is  love, 
and  nothing  less  is  love." 

A  white  light  broke  before  his  eyes,  like  a  meteor 
bursting,  and  the  voice  in  his  ear  spoke  words  that 
sent  a  flame  through  his  veins. 

"I  will  do  it,"  he  said.  "Who  is  there  among  my 
people  who  will  dare  say  'no'  to  their  Emperor's 
'  yes '  ?  I  will  make  a  new  law.  I  will  be  a  law  unto 
myself." 

His  face,  that  had  been  pale,  was  flushed.  He  tore 
up  the  unfinished  telegram,  and  wrote  another,  which 
he  signed  "Leo,  the  Chamois  Hunter."  Then,  when 
he  had  handed  in  the  message,  and  paid,  there  was 
but  just  time  to  buy  his  ticket,  engage  a  whole  first- 
class  compartment,  for  himself,  and  dash  into  it, 
before  his  train  was  due  to  start. 

As  it  moved  slowly  out  of  the  big  station,  Leopold's 
brain  rang  with  the  noble  music  of  his  great  resolve. 
He  could  see  nothing,  think  of  nothing  but  that.  His 
arms  ached  to  clasp  his  love;  his  lips,  cheated  last 
night,  already  felt  her  kisses ;  for  she  would  give  them 
now,  and  she  would  give  herself.  He  was  treading  the 
past  of  an  Empire  under  foot,  in  the  hope  of  a  future 
[ggft] 


THE    MAGIC    CITRON 

with  her;  and  every  throb  of  the  engine  was  taking 
him  nearer  to  the  threshold  of  that  future. 

But  such  moments  of  supreme  exaltation  come 
rarely  in  a  lifetime.  The  heart  of  man  or  woman 
could  not  beat  on  for  long  with  such  wild  music  for 
accompaniment;  and  so  it  was  that,  as  the  moments 
passed,  the  song  of  the  Emperor's  blood  fell  to  a 
minor  key.  He  thought  passionately  of  Virginia,  but 
he  thought  of  his  country  as  well,  and  tried  to  weigh 
the  effect  upon  others  of  the  thing  that  he  was  pre 
pared  to  do.  There  was  no  one  on  earth  whom  Leo 
pold  of  Rhaetia  need  fear,  but  there  was  one  to  whom 
he  owed  much,  one  whom  it  would  be  grevious  to 
offend. 

In  his  father's  day,  one  man  —  old  even  then  — 
had  built  upon  the  foundations  of  a  tragic  past,  a 
great  and  prosperous  nation.  This  man  had  been  to 
Leopold  what  his  father  had  never  been ;  and  without 
the  magic  power  of  inspiring  warm  affection,  had 
instilled  respect  and  gratitude  in  the  breast  of  an 
enthusiastic  boy. 

"Poor  old  von  Breitstein!"  the  Emperor  sighed; 
"  The  country  is  his  idol  —  the  country  with  all  the 
old  traditions.  He'll  feel  this  break  sorely.  I'd 

[225] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
spare  him  if  I  could;  but  I  can't  live  my  life  for 
him  — " 

He  sighed  again,  and  looked  up  frowning  at  a 
sudden  sound  which  meant  intrusion. 

Like  a  spirit  called  from  the  deep,  there  stood  the 
Chancellor  at  the  door  between  Leopold's  compart 
ment  and  the  one  adjoining. 


[226] 


CHAPTER  XIV 
THE    EMPEROR    AT    BAY 

IRON  HEART  was  dressed  in  the  long,  double- 
breasted  gray  overcoat  and  the  soft  gray  hat  in 
which  all  snapshot  photographs  (no  others  had 
ever  been  taken)  showed  the  Chancellor  of  Rhaetia. 

At  sight  of  the  Emperor  off  came  the  famous 
hat,  baring  the  bald  dome  of  the  fine  old  head, 
fringed  with  hair  of  curiously  mingled  black  and 
white. 

"  Good  day,  your  Majesty,"  he  said,  with  no  sign 
of  surprise  in  his  voice  or  face. 

The  train  rocked,  going  round  a  curve,  and  it  was 
with  difficulty  that  the  Chancellor  kept  his  footing; 
but  he  stood  rigidly  erect,  supporting  himself  in 
the  doorway,  until  the  Emperor  with  more  polite 
ness  than  enthusiasm,  invited  him  to  enter  and  be 
seated. 

"I'm  glad  you're  well  enough  to  travel,  Chancel- 

[227] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
lor,"  said  Leopold.  "  We  had  none  too  encouraging  an 
account  of  you  from  Captain  von  Breitstein." 

"I  travel  because  you  travel,  your  Majesty,"  re 
plied  the  old  man.  "  It  is  kind  of  you  to  tolerate  me 
here,  and  I  appreciate  it." 

Now,  they  sat  facing  each  other;  and  the  young 
man,  fighting  down  a  sense  of  guilt  —  familiar  to  him 
in  boyish  days,  when  about  to  be  taken  to  task  by  the 
Chancellor  —  gazed  fixedly  at  the  hard,  clever  face 
on  which  the  afternoon  sun  scored  the  detail  of  each 
wrinkle. 

"  Indeed  ?"  was  the  Emperor's  only  answer. 

"  Your  Majesty,  I  have  served  you  and  your  father 
before  you,  well,  I  hope,  faithfully,  I  know.  I  think 
you  trust  me." 

"  No  man  more.  But  this  sounds  a  portentous  pre 
face.  Is  it  possible  you  imagine  it  necessary  to  '  lead 
up'  to  a  subject,  if  I  can  please  myself  by  doing  you  a 
favor  ?  " 

"  If  I  have  seemed  to  lead  up  to  what  I  wish  to  say, 
your  Majesty,  it  is  only  for  the  sake  of  explanation. 
You  are  wondering,  no  doubt,  how  I  knew  you  would 
travel  to-day,  and  in  this  train ;  also  why  I  have  ven 
tured  to  follow.  Your  intention  I  learned  by  accident." 
[228] 


THE  EMPEROR  AT  BAY 
(The  Chancellor  did  not  explain  by  what  diplomacy 
that  "accident"  had  been  brought  about.)  "Wishing 
much  to  talk  over  with  you  a  pressing  matter  that 
should  not  be  delayed,  I  took  this  liberty,  and  seized 
this  opportunity. 

"  Some  men  would,  in  my  place,  pretend  that  busi 
ness  of  their  own  had  brought  them,  and  that  the 
train  had  been  chosen  by  chance.  But  your  Majesty 
knows  me  as  a  blunt  man,  when  I  serve  him  not  as 
diplomat,  but  as  friend.  I'm  not  one  to  work  in  the 
dark  with  those  who  trust  me,  and  I  want  your  Ma 
jesty  to  know  the  truth."  (Which  perhaps  he  did, 
but  not  the  whole  truth.) 

"You  raise  my  curiosity,"  said  Leopold. 

"Then  have  I  your  indulgence  to  speak  frankly, 
not  entirely  as  a  humble  subject  to  his  Emperor,  but 
as  an  old  man  to  a  young  man  ?  " 

"I'd  have  you  speak  as  a  friend,"  said  Leopold. 
But  a  slight  constraint  hardened  his  voice,  as  he  pre 
pared  himself  for  something  disagreeable. 

"  I've  had  a  letter  from  the  Crown  Prince  of  Hun- 

garia.   It  has  come  to  his  ears  that  there  is  a  certain 

reason  for  your  Majesty's  delay  in  following  up  the 

first  overtures  for  an  alliance  with  his  family.  Mali- 

[229] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
cious  tongues  have  whispered  that  your  Majesty's 
attentions  are  otherwise  engaged;  and  the  young 
Adalbert  has  addressed  me  in  a  friendly  way  beg 
ging  that  the  rumor  may  be  contradicted  or  con 
firmed." 

"I'm  not  sure  that  negotiations  had  gone  far 
enough  to  give  him  the  right  to  be  inquisitive,"  re 
turned  Leopold,  flushing. 

The  Chancellor  spread  out  his  old,  veined  hands 
in  a  gesture  of  appeal.  "  I  fear,"  he  said,  "  that  in  my 
anxiety  for  your  Majesty's  welfare  and  the  good  of 
Rhaetia,  I  may  have  exceeded  my  instructions.  My 
one  excuse  is,  that  I  believed  your  mind  to  be  definitely 
made  up.  I  still  believe  it  to  be  so.  I  would  listen  to  no 
one  who  should  try  to  persuade  me  of  the  contrary, 
and  I  will  write  Adalbert  — " 

"  You  must  get  yourself  and  me  out  of  the  scrape 
as  best  you  can,  since  you  admit  you  got  us  into  it," 
broke  in  the  Emperor,  with  an  uneasy  laugh.  "If 
Princess  Virginia  of  Baumenburg-Drippe  is  as  charm 
ing  as  she  is  said  to  be,  her  difficulty  will  be  in  choosing 
a  husband,  not  in  getting  one.  For  once,  my  dear 
Chancellor,  gossip  has  told  the  truth;  and  I  wouldn't 
pay  the  Princess  so  poor  a  compliment  as  to  ask  for 
[230] 


THE    EMPEROR    AT    BAY 
her  hand,  when  I've  no  heart  left  to  give  her  in  ex 
change  for  it.  There's  some  one  else  — 

"It  is  of  that  some  one  else  I  would  venture  to 
speak,  your  Majesty.  Gossip  has  named  her.  May  I  ?  " 

"I'll  save  you  the  trouble.  For  I'm  not  ashamed 
that  the  common  fate  has  overtaken  me  —  common, 
because  every  man  loves  once  before  he  dies ;  and  yet 
uncommon,  because  no  man  ever  loved  a  woman  so 
worthy.  Chancellor,  there's  no  woman  in  the  world 
like  Miss  Helen  Mowbray,  the  lady  to  whom  I  owe 
my  life." 

"  It's  natural  you  should  be  grateful,  your  Majesty, 
but—" 

"  It's  natural  I  should  be  in  love." 

"Natural  that  a  young  man  inexperienced  in 
affairs  of  the  heart,  should  mistake  warm  gratitude 
for  love.  Impossible  that  the  mistake  should  be  al 
lowed  to  continue." 

Leopold's  eyes  grew  dark.  "  In  such  a  connection," 
he  said,  "  it  would  be  better  not  to  mention  the  word 
'mistake.'  I'm  glad  you  are  here;  for  now  you  can 
learn  from  me  my  intentions  toward  that  lady  — 

"  Intentions,  did  you  say,  your  Majesty  ?  I  fear  I 
grow  hard  of  hearing." 

[231] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

"  At  least  you  will  never  grow  slow  of  understand 
ing.  I  did  speak  of  my  intentions  toward  Miss  Mow- 
bray." 

"  You  would  give  the  lady  some  magnificent  estate, 
some  splendid  acknowledgment  — 

"Whether  splendid  or  not  would  be  a  matter  of 
opinion,"  laughed  the  Emperor.  "  I  shall  offer  her  a 
present  of  myself." 

The  old  man  had  been  sitting  with  his  chin  sunk 
into  his  short  neck,  peering  out  from  under  his  brows 
in  a  way  he  had ;  but  he  lifted  his  head  suddenly,  with 
a  look  in  his  eyes  like  that  of  an  animal  who  scents 
danger  from  an  unexpected  quarter. 

"Your  Majesty!"  he  exclaimed.  "You  are  your 
father's  son,  you  are  Rhaetian,  and  your  standard 
of  honor  —  " 

"I  hope  to  marry  Miss  Mowbray,"  Leopold  cut 
him  short. 

The  Chancellor's  jaw  dropped,  and  he  grew  pale. 
"  I  had  dreamed  of  nothing  as  bad  as  this,"  he  blurted 
out,  with  no  thought  or  wish  to  sugar  the  truth.  "  I 
feared  a  young  man's  rashness.  I  dreaded  scandal. 
But,  forgive  me,  your  Majesty,  for  you  a  morganatic 
marriage  would  be  madness  —  " 
[232] 


THE    EMPEROR    AT    BAY 

"  A  morganatic  marriage  I  did  think  of  at  first.  But 
on  second  thoughts  I  saw  it  would  be  ungrateful." 

"  Ah  yes,  to  the  country  which  expects  so  much  of 
you." 

"No,  to  the  woman  who  has  the  right  to  all  or 
nothing.  I  will  make  her  Empress  of  Rhaetia." 

With  a  cry  the  Chancellor  sprang  up.  His  eyes 
glared  like  the  eyes  of  a  bull  who  receives  the  death 
stroke.  His  working  lips,  and  the  hollow  sound  in  his 
throat  alarmed  the  Emperor. 

"  No,  your  Majesty.  No ! "  he  panted. 

"But  I  say  yes,"  Leopold  answered,  "and  let  no 
man  give  me  nay.  I've  thought  it  all  out.  I  will  make 
her  a  Countess  first.  Then,  she  shall  be  made  my  Em 
press." 

"  Your  Majesty,  it  is  not  possible." 

"  Take  care,  Chancellor." 

"  She  has  been  deceiving  you.  She  has  neither  the 
birth,  the  position,  nor  the  name  she  claims  to  have, 
and  I  can  prove  it." 

"You  are  mad,  von  Breitstein,"  the  Emperor  flung 
at  him.  "That  can  be  your  only  excuse  for  such 
words." 

"  I  am  not  mad,  but  I  am  old  and  wise,  your  Ma- 

[233] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
jesty.  To-day  you  have  made  me  feel  that  I  am  very 
old.  Punish  me  as  you  will  for  my  frankness.  My  work 
for  you  and  yours  is  nearly  done.  Cheerfully  will  I 
submit  to  my  dismissal  if  only  this  last  effort  in  your 
service  may  save  the  ship  of  state  from  wreck.  I  would 
not  make  an  accusation  which  I  could  not  prove.  And 
I  can  prove  that  the  two  English  ladies  who  have  been 
staying  at  Schloss  Lyndalberg  are  not  the  persons 
they  pretend  to  be." 

"  Who  has  been  lying  to  you  ?  "  cried  Leopold,  who 
held  between  clenched  hands  the  temper  he  vowed 
not  to  lose  with  this  old  man. 

"To  me,  no  one.  To  your  Majesty,  to  society  in 
Kronburg,  two  adventuresses  have  lied." 

The  Emperor  caught  his  breath.  "If  you  were  a 
young  man  I  would  kill  you  for  that,"  he  said. 

"  I  know  you  would.  As  it  is,  my  life  is  yours.  But 
before  you  take  it,  for  God's  sake,  for  your  father's 
sake,  hear  me  out." 

Leopold  did  not  speak  for  a  moment,  but  stared 
at  the  vanishing  landscape,  which  he  saw  through  a 
red  haze.  "Very  well,"  he  said  at  last,  "I  will  hear 
you,  because  I  fear  nothing  you  can  say." 

"  When  I  heard  of  your  Majesty's  —  admiration 
[2341 


THE  EMPEROR  AT  BAY 
for  a  certain  lady,"  the  Chancellor  began  quickly, 
lest  the  Emperor  should  change  his  mind,  "  I  looked 
for  her  name  and  her  mother's  in  Burke's  Peerage. 
There  I  found  Lady  Mowbray,  widow  of  a  dead 
Baron  of  that  ilk;  mother  of  a  son,  still  a  child,  and 
of  one  daughter,  a  young  woman  with  many  names 
and  twenty-eight  years. 

"This  surprised  me,  as  the  Miss  Mowbray  I  had 
seen  at  the  birthday  ball  looked  no  more  than  eigh 
teen,  and  —  I  was  told  —  confessed  to  twenty.  The 
Mowbrays,  I  learned  by  a  little  further  research  in 
Burke,  were  distantly  connected  by  marriage  with  the 
family  of  Baumenburg-Drippe.  This  seemed  an  odd 
coincidence,  in  the  circumstances.  But  acting  as  duty 
bade  me  act,  I  wired  to  two  persons :  Baron  von  Sark> 
your  Majesty's  ambassador  to  Great  Britain;  and 
the  Crown  Prince  of  Hungaria,  the  brother  of  Princess 
Virginia." 

"  What  did  vou  telegraph  ? "  asked  the  Emperor,, 
icily. 

"  Nothing  compromising  to  your  Majesty,  you  may 

well  believe.  I  inquired  of  Adalbert  if  he  had  English 

relations,  a   Lady  Mowbray  and    daughter  Helen, 

traveling  in  Rhaetia;  and  I  begged  that,  if  so,  he 

[235] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
would  describe  their  appearance  by  telegram.  To  von 
Sark  I  said  that  particulars  by  wire  concerning  the 
widow  of  Lord  Mowbray  and  daughter  Helen,  would 
put  me  under  personal  obligation.  Both  these  mes 
sages  I  sent  off  night  before  last.  Yesterday  I  received 
Adalbert's  answer;  this  morning,  von  Sark's.  They 
are  here,"  and  the  Chancellor  tapped  the  breast  of 
his  gray  coat.  "  Will  your  Majesty  read  them  ?  " 

"If  you  wish,"  replied  Leopold  at  his  haughtiest 
and  coldest. 

The  old  man  unbuttoned  his  coat  and  produced  a 
coroneted  pocket-book,  a  souvenir  of  friendship  on 
his  last  birthday  from  the  Emperor.  Leopold  saw  it, 
and  remembered,  as  the  Chancellor  hoped  he  would. 

"  Here  are  the  telegrams,  your  Majesty,"  he  said. 
"  The  first  one  is  from  the  Crown  Prince  of  Hunga- 
ria,"  ,~- 1- 

"  Have  no  idea  where  Lady  Mowbray  and  daughter 
are  traveling;  may  be  Rhaetia  or  North  Pole,"  Adal 
bert  had  written  with  characteristic  flippancy.  "  Have 
seen  neither  for  eight  years,  and  scarcely  know  them. 
But  Lady  M.  tall  brown  old  party  with  nose  like 
hobbyhorse.  Helen  dark,  nose  like  mother's,  wears 

glasses." 

[236] 


THE    EMPEROR    AT    BAY 

With  no  betrayal  of  feeling,  Leopold  laid  the  tele 
gram  on  the  red  plush  seat,  and  unfolded  the  other. 

"Pardon  delay,"  the  Rhaetian  ambassador's  mes 
sage  began.  "Have  been  making  inquiries.  Lady 
Mowbray  has  been  widow  for  ten  years.  Not  rich. 
During  son's  minority  has  let  her  town  and  country 
houses,  lives  much  abroad.  Very  high  church,  intellect 
ual,  at  present  in  Calcutta,  where  her  daughter  Helen, 
twenty-eight,  not  pretty,  is  lately  engaged  to  marry 
middle-aged  Judge  of  some  distinction." 

"  So ! "  And  the  Emperor  threw  aside  the  second  bit 
of  paper.  "  It  is  on  such  slight  grounds  as  these  that 
a  man  of  the  world  can  label  two  ladies  'adven 
turesses'!" 

The  Chancellor  was  bitterly  disappointed.  He 
had  counted  on  the  impression  which  these  telegrams 
must  make,  and  unless  Leopold  were  acting,  it  was 
now  certain  that  love  had  driven  him  out  of  his 
senses. 

But  if  the  Emperor  were  mad,  he  must  be  treated 
accordingly,  and  the  old  statesman  condescended  to 
"bluff." 

"There  is  still  more  to  tell,"  he  said,  "if  your 
Majesty  has  not  heard  enough.  But  I  think  when  you 
[237] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
have  reflected  you  will  not  wish  for  more.  It  is  clear 
that  the  women  calling  themselves  Mowbrays  have 
had  the  audacity  to  present  themselves  here  under 
false  colors.  They  have  either  deceived  Lady  Lam 
bert,  who  introduced  them  to  Rhaetian  society,  or  — 
still  more  likely  —  they  have  cleverly  forged  their 
ietters  of  introduction." 

"  Why  didn't  you  telegraph  to  Lady  Lambert,  while 
your  hand  was  in  ?  "  sneered  Leopold. 

"I  did,  your  Majesty;  or  rather,  not  knowing  her 
present  address  I  wired  a  friend  of  mine,  an  acquaint 
ance  of  hers,  begging  him  to  make  inquiries,  without 
using  my  name.  But  I  have  not  yet  received  an  answer 
to  that  telegram." 

"Until  you  do,  I  should  think  that  even  a  cynic 
like  yourself  might  give  two  defenseless,  inoffensive 
ladies  the  benefit  of  the  doubt." 

"  Inoffensive  ?  "  echoed  von  Breitstein. "  Inoffensive, 
when  they  came  to  this  country  to  ensnare  your  Ma 
jesty  through  the  girl's  beauty?  But,  great  Heaven, 
it  is  true  that  I  am  growing  old!  I  have  forgotten 
to  ask  your  Majesty  whether  you  have  gone  so  far  as 
to  mention  the  word  marriage  to  Miss  Mowbray  ? '* 

"  I'll  answer  that  question  by  another.  Do  you  really 
[238] 


THE    EMPEROR    AT    BAY 
believe  that  Miss  Mowbray  came  to  Rhaetia  to  'en 
trap  '  me  ?  " 

"I  do.  Though  I  scarcely  think  that  even  her  am 
bition  flew  as  high  as  you  are  encouraging  it  to  soar." 

"In  case  you're  right  she  would  have  been  over 
joyed  with  an  offer  of  morganatic  marriage." 

"Overjoyed  is  a  poor  word.  Overwhelmed  might 
be  nearer." 

"Yet  I  tell  you  she  refused  me  last  night,  and  is 
leaving  Rhaetia  to-day  rather  than  listen  to  further 
entreaties." 

Leopold  bent  forward  to  launch  this  thunderbolt, 
his  brown  hands  on  his  knees,  his  eyes  eager.  The 
memories,  half  bitter,  half  sweet,  called  up  by  his 
own  words,  caused  Virginia  to  appear  more  beauti 
ful,  more  desirable  even  than  before. 

He  was  delighted  with  the  expression  of  the  Chan 
cellor's  face.  "  Now,  what  arguments  have  you  left  ? " 
he  broke  out  in  the  brief  silence. 

"  All  I  had  before  —  and  many  new  ones.  For  what 
your  Majesty  has  said  shows  the  lady  more  ambitious, 
more  astute,  therefore  more  dangerous  than  I  had 
guessed.  She  staked  everything  on  the  power  of  her 
charms.  And  she  might  have  won,  had  you  not  an 
[239] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
old  servant  who  wouldn't  be  fooled  by  the  witcheries 
of  a  fair  Helen." 

"She  has  won,"  said  Leopold.  Then,  quickly, 
"God  forgive  me  for  chiming  in  with  your  bitter 
humor,  as  if  she'd  played  a  game.  By  simply  being 
herself,  she  has  won  me  —  such  as  I  am.  She's  proved 
that  if  she  cares  at  all,  it's  for  the  man,  and  not  the 
Emperor,  since  she  called  the  offer  you  think  so  mag 
nificent,  an  insult.  Yes,  Chancellor,  that  was  the  word 
she  used;  and  it  was  almost  the  last  she  said  to  me: 
which  is  the  reason  I'm  traveling  to-day.  And  none  of 
your  boasted  'proofs'  can  hold  me  back." 

"  By  Heaven,  your  Majesty  must  look  upon  yourself 
from  the  point  of  view  you  credit  to  the  girl.  You  for 
get  the  Emperor  in  the  man." 

"  The  two  need  not  be  separated." 
"  Love  indeed  makes  men  blind,  and  spares  not  the 
eyes  of  Emperors." 

"  I've  pledged  myself  to  bear  with  you,  Chancellor." 
"  And  I  know  you'll  keep  your  word.  I  must  speak, 
for  Rhaetia,  and  your  better  self.  You  are  following 
this  —  lady  to  give  her  your  Empire  for  a  toy." 

"She  must  first  accept  the  Emperor  as  her  hus 
band." 

[240] 


THE    EMPEROR    AT    BAY 
"  A  lady  who  has  so  poor  a  name  of  her  own  that 
she  steals  one  which  doesn't  belong  to  her.  The  na 
tion  won't  bear  it." 

"You  speak  for  yourself,  not  for  Rhaetia,"  said 
Leopold.  "Though  I'm  not  so  old  as  you  by  half 
your  years,  I  believe  I  can  judge  my  people  better 
than  you  do.  The  law  which  bids  an  Emperor  of 
Rhaetia  match  with  Royalty  is  an  unwritten  law,  a 
law  solely  of  customs,  handed  down  through  the  gen 
erations.  I'll  not  spoil  my  life  by  submitting  to  its 
yoke,  since  by  breaking  it  the  nation  gains,  as  I  do. 
I  could  go  to  the  world's  end  and  not  find  a  woman 
as  worthy  to  be  my  wife  and  Empress  of  Rhaetia  as 
Helen  Mowbray." 

"You  have  never  seen  Princess  Virginia." 
"I've  no  wish  to  see  her.  There's  but  one  woman 
for  me,  and  I  swear  to  you,  if  I  lose  her,  I'll  go  to  my 
grave  unmarried.  Let  the  crown  fall  to  my  uncle's 
son.  I'll  not  perjure  myself  even  for  Rhaetia." 

The  Chancellor  bowed  his  head  and  held  up  his 
hands,  for  by  that  gesture  alone  could  he  express 
his  despair. 

"  If  my  people  love  me,  they'll  love  my  wife,  and 
rejoice  in  my  happiness,"  Leopold  went  on,  sharply. 
[241] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
"If  they  complain,  why,  we  shall  see  who's  master; 
whether  or  not  the  Emperor  of  Rhaetia  is  a  mere 
figurehead.  In  some  countries  Royalty  is  but  an  orna 
mental  survival  of  a  picturesque  past,  a  King  or  Queen 
is  a  mere  puppet  which  the  nation  loads  with  luxury 
to  do  itself  honor.  That's  not  true  of  Rhaetia,  though, 
as  I'm  ready  to  prove,  if  prove  it  I  must.  But  I  be 
lieve  I  shall  be  spared  the  trouble.  We  Rhaetians  love 
romance;  you  are  perhaps  the  one  exception.  While 
as  for  the  story  you've  told  me,  I  would  not  give  that 
for  it ! "  And  the  Emperor  snapped  his  fingers. 

"You  still  believe  the  ladies  have  a  right  to  the 
name  of  Mowbray  ?  " 

"I  believe  that  they  are  of  stainless  reputation, 
and  that  any  seeming  mystery  can  be  explained. 
Miss  Mowbray  is  herself.  That's  enough  for  me. 
Perhaps,  Chancellor,  there  are  two  Lady  Mowbrays." 

"  Only  one  is  mentioned  in  Burke." 

"Burke  isn't  gospel." 

"  Pardon  me.  It's  the  gospel  of  the  British  peerage. 
It  can  no  more  be  guilty  of  error  than  Euclid." 

"Nor  can  Miss  Mowbray  be  guilty  of  wrong.  I 
should  still  stake  my  life  on  that,  even  had  your  con 
clusions  not  been  lame  ones." 
[242] 


THE      EMPEROR    AT    BAY 

The  old  man  accepted  this  rebuff  in  silence.  But  it 
was  not  the  silence  of  absolute  hopelessness.  It  was 
only  such  a  pause  as  a  prize-fighter  makes  between 
rounds. 

"  Your  Majesty  will  not  be  in  too  great  haste,  at  all 
events,  I  trust,"  he  said  at  last.  "  At  least  a  little  reflec 
tion,  a  little  patience,  to  cool  the  blood.  I  have  not 
laid  down  all  my  cards  yet." 

"It's  often  bad  policy  not  to  lead  trumps,"  replied 
Leopold. 

"  Often,  but  not  always.  Time,  and  the  end  of  the 
play  will  show.  Is  your  Majesty's  indulgence  for  the 
old  man  quite  exhausted  ?  " 

"Not  quite,  though  rather  strained,  I  confess." 
Leopold  tempered  his  words  with  a  faint  smile. 

"  Then  I  have  one  more  important  question  to  ask, 
venturing  to  remind  you  first  that  I  have  acted  solely 
in  your  interest.  If  such  a  step  as  you  contemplate 
should  be  my  death  blow,  it  is  because  of  my  love  for 
you,  and  Rhaetia.  Tell  me,  your  Majesty,  this  one 
thing.  If  it  were  proved  to  you  that  the  lady  you  know 
as  Miss  Mowbray,  was,  not  only  not  the  person  she 
pretends  to  be,  but  in  all  other  respects  unworthy  of 
your  love  —  what  would  you  do  ?  " 
[243] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

"You  speak  of  impossibilities." 

"  But  if  they  were  not  impossibilities  ?  " 

"  In  such  a  case  I  should  do  as  other  men  do  — 
spend  the  rest  of  life  in  trying  to  forget  a  lost 
ideal." 

"  I  thank  your  Majesty.  That  is  all  I  ask.  I  suppose 
you  will  continue  your  journey  ?  " 

"  Yes,  as  far  as  Felgarde,  where  I  hope  to  find  Lady 
Mowbray  and  her  daughter." 

"Then,  your  Majesty,  when  I've  expressed  my 
gratitude  for  your  forebearance  —  even  though  I've 
failed  to  be  convincing  —  I'll  trouble  you  no  longer." 

The  Chancellor  rose,  painfully,  with  a  reminscence 
of  gout,  and  Leopold  stared  at  him  in  surprise.  "  What 
do  you  mean  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Only  that,  as  I  can  do  no  further  good  here,  with 
your  permission,  I  will  get  out  at  the  station  we  are 
coming  into,  and  go  back  home  again." 

The  Emperor  realized,  what  he  had  not  noticed 
until  this  moment,  that  the  train  was  slackening  speed 
as  it  approached  the  suburbs  of  a  town.  His  conver 
sation  with  the  Chancellor  had  lasted  for  an  hour,  and 
he  was  far  from  regretting  the  prospect  of  being  left  in 

peace.  More  than  once  he  had  come  perilously  near 
[244] 


THE  EMPEROR  AT  BAY 
to  losing  his  temper,  forgetting  his  gratitude  and  the 
old  man's  years.  How  much  longer  he  could  have  held 
out  under  a  continued  strain  of  provocation,  he  did 
not  know;  so  he  spoke  no  word  of  disuasion  when 
Count  von  Breitstein  picked  up  his  soft  hat  and  but 
toned  the  gray  coat  for  departure. 

"I've  passed  pleasanter  hours  in  your  society,  I 
admit,"  said  Leopold,  when  the  train  stopped.  "  But 
I  can  thank  you  for  your  motives,  if  not  your  maxims; 
and  here's  my  hand." 

"It  would  be  most  kind  of  your  Majesty  to  tele 
phone  me  from  Felgarde,"  the  Chancellor  exclaimed, 
as  if  on  a  sudden  thought,  while  they  shook  hands, 
"  merely  to  say  whether  you  remain  there ;  or  whether 
you  go  further;  or  whether  you  return  at  once.  I  am 
too  fatigued  to  travel  back  immediately  to  Schloss 
Breitstein,  and  shall  rest  for  some  hours  at  least,  in 
my  house  at  Kronburg,  so  a  call  will  find  me  there." 

"I  will  do  as  you  ask,"  said  the  Emperor.  Again 
he  pressed  the  Chancellor's  hand,  and  it  was  very 
cold. 


[245] 


CHAPTER  XV 
THROUGH  THE  TELEPHONE 

WHEN  Leopold  arrived  at  Felgarde  he  went 
immediately  to  the  hotel  which  he  had 
designated  as  a  place  of  meeting.  But  no 
ladies  answering  to  the  description  he  gave  had  been 
seen  there.  Either  Miss  Mowbray  had  failed  to  re 
ceive  his  message,  or,  having  received,  had  chosen  to 
ignore  it. 

The  doubt,  harrowing  while  it  lasted,  was  solved 
on  returning  to  the  railway  station,  though  certainty 
proved  scarcely  less  tantalizing  than  uncertainty  had 
been. 

The  telegram  was  still  in  the  hands  of  the  station- 
master,  to  whose  care  it  had  been  addressed.  This 
diligent  person  professed  to  have  sent  a  man  through 
the  Orient  Express,  from  end  to  end,  calling  for  Miss 
Helen  Mowbray,  but  calling  in  vain.  He  had  no  theory 
more  plausible  to  offer  than  that  the  lady  had  not 
[246] 


THROUGH    THE    TELEPHONE 

started  from  Kronburg;  or  else  that  she  had  left  the 
train  at  Felgarde  before  her  name  had  been  cried. 
But  certainly  she  would  not  have  had  time  to  go  far,  if 
she  were  a  through  passenger,  for  the  Orient  Express 
stopped  but  ten  minutes  at  Felgarde. 

It  was  evident  throughout  the  short  conversation 
that  the  excellent  official  was  on  pins  and  needles. 
Struck  by  the  Emperor's  features,  which  he  had  so 
often  seen  in  painting  and  photograph,  it  still  seemed 
impossible  that  the  greatest  man  in  Rhaetia  could  be 
traveling  thus  about  the  country,  in  ordinary  mor 
ning  dress,  and  unattended.  Sure  at  one  instant  that 
he  must  be  talking  with  the  Emperor,  sure  the  next 
that  he  had  been  deceived  by  a  likeness,  the  poor 
fellow  struggled  against  his  confusion  in  a  way  that 
would  have  amused  Leopold,  in  a  different  mood. 

With  a  manner  that  essayed  the  difficult  mean 
between  reverence  due  to  Royalty,  and  common, 
every-day  politeness,  good  enough  for  an  ordinary 
gentleman,  the  station-master  volunteered  to  ascer 
tain  whether  the  ladies  described  had  gone  out  and 
given  up  their  tickets.  A  few  minutes  of  suspense 
dragged  on ;  then  came  the  news  that  no  such  persons 
had  passed. 

[247] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
Here  was  a  stumbling-block.  Since  Helen  Mowbray 
and  her  mother  had  apparently  not  traveled  by  the 
Orient  Express,  where  had  they  gone  on  leaving  the 
hotel  at  Kronburg  ?  Had  they  after  all  misled  Bar 
oness  von  Lyndal  as  to  their  intentions,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  blinding  the  Emperor;  or  had  they  simply 
changed  their  minds  at  the  last  minute,  as  women 
may  ?  Could  it  be  possible  that  they  had  changed 
them  so  completely  as  to  return  to  Schloss  Lyndal- 
berg  ?  Or  had  they  chosen  to  vanish  mysteriously 
through  some  back  door  out  of  Rhaetia,  leaving  no 
trace  which  even  a  lover  could  find  ? 

Leopold  could  not  help  recalling  the  Chancellor's 
"revelations,"  but  dismissed  them  as  soon  as  they 
had  crept  into  his  brain.  No  matter  where  the  clue 
to  the  tangle  might  lie,  he  told  himself  that  it  was  not 
in  any  act  of  which  Helen  Mowbray  need  be  ashamed. 
He  could  think  of  nothing  more  to  do  but  to  go 
dismally  back  to  Kronburg,  and  await  developments 
—  or  rather,  to  stir  them  up  by  every  means  in  his 
power.  This  was  the  course  he  finally  chose;  and,  just 
as  he  was  about  to  act  upon  his  decision,  he  remem 
bered  his  carelessly  given  promise  to  Count  von 
Breitstein. 

[248] 


THROUGH    THE    TELEPHONE 

There  was  a  telephone  in  the  railway  station  at 
Felgarde,  and  Leopold  himself  called  up  the  Chan 
cellor  at  Kronburg. 

"My  friends  are  not  here.  I'm  starting  for  Kron 
burg  as  soon  as  possible,  either  by  the  next  train,  or 
by  special,"  he  announced,  after  a  far-away  squeak 
had  signified  Count  von  Breitstein's  presence  at  the 
other  end.  "  I  don't  see  why  you  wish  to  know,  but  I 
would  not  break  my  promise.  That's  all;  good-by  — 
Eh?  — What  was  that  you  said?" 

"  I  have  a  —  curious  —  piece  of  —  news  for  you," 
came  over  the  wire  in  the  Chancellor's  voice.  "It's 
—  about  the  —  ladies." 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Leopold. 

"I  hinted  that  I  had  more  information  which  I 
could  not  give  you  then.  But  I  am  in  a  different  posi 
tion  now.  You  did  not  find  your  friends  in  the  Orient 
Express." 

"  No,"  said  the  Emperor. 

"They  gave  out  that  they  were  leaving  Rhaetia. 
But  they  haven't  crossed  the  frontier." 

"Thanks.  That's  exactly  what  I  wanted  to 
know." 

"  You  remember  a  certain  person  whose  name  can't 

[249] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
be  mentioned  over  the  telephone,  buying  a  hunting 
lodge  near  the  village  of  Inseleden,  in  the  Buchen- 
wald,  last  year  ?  " 

"  Yes.  I  remember  very  well.  But  what  has  that  to 
do  with  my  friends  ?  " 

"The  younger  lady  has  gone  there  without  her 
mother,  who  remains  in  Kronburg,  with  the  com 
panion.  It  seems  that  the  present  owner  of  the  hunting 
lodge  has  been  acquainted  with  them  for  some  time, 
though  he  was  ignorant  of  their  masquerade.  You  see, 
he  knows  them  only  under  their  real  name.  The  young 
lady  is  a  singer  in  comic  operas,  a  Miss  Jenny  Brett, 
whose  dossier  can  be  given  you  on  demand.  The 
owner  of  the  hunting  lodge  arrived  at  his  place  this 
morning,  motored  into  Kronburg,  where  the  young 
lady  had  waited,  evidently  informed  of  his  coming. 
She  invited  him  to  pay  her  a  visit  at  her  hotel;  he 
accepted,  and  returned  the  invitation,  which  she 
accepted." 

"You  are  misinformed.  The  lady  was  never  an 
opera  singer.  And  I'm  certain  she  would  neither 
receive  the  person  you  mention,  nor  go  to  visit 
him." 

"  Will  you  drive  out  to  the  lodge  to-night,  when  you 

[250] 


THROUGH    THE    TELEPHONE 
reach  Kronburg,  and  honor  the  gentleman  with  an 
unexpected  call  ?  " 

"  I  will,  d  —  n  you,  but  not  for  the  reason  you 
think,"  cried  the  Emperor.  It  was  the  first  time  in  his 
life  that  he  had  ever  used  strong  language  to  the 
Chancellor. 

He  dropped  the  receiver,  flung  down  a  gold  coin 
with  his  own  head  upon  it  (at  the  moment  he  could 
have  wished  that  he  had  no  other)  and  waving  away 
an  offer  of  change,  rushed  out  of  the  office. 

Under  his  breath  he  swore  again,  the  strongest 
oaths  which  the  rich  language  of  his  fatherland  pro 
vided,  anathematizing  not  the  beloved  woman, 
maligned,  but  the  man  who  maligned  her. 

There  would  be  death  in  the  thought  that  she  could 
be  false  to  herself,  and  her  confession  of  love  for  him; 
but  then,  it  was  unthinkable.  Let  the  whole  world 
reek  with  foulness;  his  love  must  still  shine  above  it, 
white  and  remote  as  the  young  moon. 

This  old  man  —  whose  life  would  scarce  have  been 
safe  if,  in  his  Emperor's  present  mood,  the  two  had 
been  together  —  this  old  man  had  a  grudge  against 
the  one  perfect  girl  on  earth.  There  was  no  black  rag 

of  scandal  he  would  not  stoop  to  pick  out  of  the  mud 

[251] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
and  fly  as  a  flag  of  battle,  soothing  his  conscience  — 
if  he  had  one  —  by  saying   it   was    for  "Rhaetia's 
good." 

Telling  himself  that  these  things  were  truths,  Leo 
pold  hurried  away  to  inquire  for  the  next  train  back 
to  Kronburg.  There  would  not  be  another  for  three 
hours,  he  found,  and  as  nothing  could  have  induced 
him  to  wait  three  hours,  or  even  two,  he  ordered  a 
special.  There  was  a  raging  tiger  in  his  breast,  which 
would  not  cease  to  tear  him  until  he  had  seen  Helen 
Mowbray,  laid  his  Empire  at  her  feet,  received  her 
answer,  and  through  it,  punished  the  Chancellor. 

The  special,  he  was  told,  could  be  ready  in  less 
than  an  hour.  The  journey  to  Kronburg  would  occupy 
nearly  three  more,  and  it  would  be  close  upon  nine 
before  he  could  start  with  Count  von  Breitstein,  for 
the  hunting  lodge  which  he  had  promised  to  visit. 
But  the  Chancellor  would  doubtless  have  his  electric 
carriage  ready  for  the  desired  expedition,  and  they 
could  reach  their  destination  in  twenty  minutes.  This 
was  not  too  long  a  time  to  give  up  to  proving  the  old 
man  wrong;  for  to  do  this,  not  to  find  Helen  Mow- 
bray,  was  Leopold's  motive  in  consenting.  She  would 
not  be  there,  and  the  Emperor  was  going  because  she 
[252] 


THROUGH    THE    TELEPHONE 
would  not.    He  wanted  to  witness  von  Breitstein's 
confusion,  for  humiliation  was  the  bitterest  punish 
ment  which  could  possibly  be  inflicted  on  the  proud 
and  opinionated  old  man. 


[253] 


CHAPTER  XVI 

TRUTH  ACCORDING  TO  THE 
CHANCELLOR 

TELL  the  truth  -  -  when  desirable  ;  spice 
with  prevarication — when  necessary;  and 
never  part  with  the  whole  truth  at  one 
time,  since  waste  is  sinful,"  was  one  of  the  maxims 
by  which  the  Chancellor  guided  his  own  actions, 
though  he  did  not  give  it  away  for  the  benefit  of 
others;  and  he  had  made  the  most  of  that  prudent 
policy  to-day. 

He  had  told  his  Emperor  no  lies,  even  through  the 
telephone,  where  forgetfulness  may  be  pardonable; 
but  he  had  arranged  his  truths  as  skilfully  as  he 
arranged  his  pawns  on  a  chess-board. 

It  was  said  by  some  who  pretended  to  know,  that 
Count  von  Breitstein  had  had  a  Jesuit  for  a  tutor; 
but  be  this  as  it  might,  it  was  certain  that,  when  he 
had  a  goal  to  reach,  he  did  not  pick  his  footsteps  by 

[  254  ] 


TRUTH    AND     THE     CHANCELLOR 
the  way.  A  flower  here  or  there  was  apt  to  be  trodden 
down,  a  small  life  broken,  a  reputation  stained;  but 
what  of  that  when  Rhaetia's  standard  was  to  be  plant 
ed  upon  the  mountain  top  ? 

Supposing  he  had  said  to  the  Emperor,  after  his 
promise  of  plain  speaking :  "  Your  Majesty's  journey 
to-day  is  a  wild  goose  chase.  I  happen  to  know  that 
those  you  seek  are  still  at  their  hotel  in  Kronburg. 
When  I  heard  from  my  brother  Egon  that  they  were 
leaving  Schloss  Lyndalberg  suddenly  and  secretly,  I 
went  immediately  to  Kronburg,  and  called  upon  the 
ladies.  My  intention  was  to  frighten  them  away,  by 
telling  them  that  the  fraud  was  found  out,  and  they 
had  better  disappear  decently  of  their  own  accord, 
unless  they  wished  to  be  assisted  over  the  frontier. 
They  actually  dared  refuse  to  see  me,  alleging  as  an 
excuse  the  sudden  illness  of  their  companion,  which 
had  prevented  their  leaving  Kronburg  as  they  in 
tended.  While  I  was  awaiting  this  answer,  I  learned 
that  some  person  was  telegraphing  from  the  railway 
station  to  the  hotel  manager,  inquiring  if  the  Mow- 
brays  had  gone.  I  guessed  this  person  to  be  your 
Majesty,  and  ventured  to  use  my  influence  strongly 
with  the  manager,  so  successfully  that  I  was  permitted 
[255] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

to  dictate  the  reply,  and  obtain  his  promise  that  the 
matter  should  be  strictly  confidential.  I  judged  that 
your  Majesty  had  meant  to  take  the  Orient  Express, 
but  had  missed  it;  and  as  you  telephoned  from  the 
station  I  had  no  doubt  that  you  intended  to  follow, 
either  by  the  next  train  or  by  a  special.  Soon,  I  learned 
that  no  special  had  been  ordered  by  any  one.  I  ascer 
tained  the  time  of  the  next  train,  and  sought  your 
Majesty  in  it.  Had  my  eloquence  then  prevailed  with 
you,  I  should  have  urged  your  return  with  me,  and 
thus  you  would  have  been  spared  the  useless  journey 
to  Felgarde.  As  you  remained  obstinately  faithful, 
however,  I  considered  myself  fortunate  to  have  you 
out  of  the  way,  so  that  I  could  hurry  back,  and,  un 
hampered  by  your  suspicions,  set  about  learning  still 
more  facts  to  Miss  Mowbray's  discredit,  or  inventing 
a  few  if  those  which  undoubtedly  existed  could  not 
be  unearthed  in  time." 

Supposing  that  Count  von  Breitstein's  boasted 
frankness  had  led  him  to  make  these  statements,  it  is 
probable  that  Rhaetia  would  not  long  have  rejoiced 
in  a  Chancellor  so  wise  and  so  self-sacrificing. 

It  was  well  enough  for  the  old  man  to  declare  his 
willingness  to  retire,  if  his  master  desired  it;  but  he 
[256] 


TRUTH    AND    THE     CHANCELLOR 

had  counted  (as  people  who  risk  all  for  great  ends  do 
count)  on  not  being  taken  at  his  word.  He  loved 
power,  because  he  had  always  had  it,  and  without 
power  life  would  not  be  worth  the  living;  but  it  was 
honestly  for  the  country's  sake,  and  for  Leopold's 
sake,  rather  than  his  own,  that  he  desired  to  hold  and 
keep  his  high  position.  Without  his  strong  hand  to 
seize  the  helm,  should  Leopold's  fail  for  some  care 
less  instant,  he  conscientiously  believed  that  the  ship 
of  state  would  be  lost. 

He  had  done  his  best  to  disillusion  a  young  man 
tricked  into  love  for  an  adventuress.  Now,  neither  as 
Chancellor  nor  friend  could  he  make  further  open 
protest,  unless  favored  by  fate  with  some  striking  new 
development.  There  were,  nevertheless,  other  ways  of 
working;  and  he  had  but  taken  the  first  step  toward 
interference.  He  meant,  since  worst  had  come  to 
worst,  to  go  on  relentlessly ;  and  he  would  hardly  have 
considered  it  criminal  to  destroy  a  woman  of  the  type 
to  which  he  assigned  Helen  Mowbray,  provided  no 
means  less  stringent  sufficed  to  snatch  her  from  the 
throne  of  Rhaetia. 

There  were  many  plans  seething  in  the  Chancellor's 
head,  and  Egon's  help  might  be  necessary.  He  might 
[257] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
even  have  to  go  so  far  as  to  bribe  Egon  to  kidnap  the 
girl  and  sacrifice  himself  by  marrying  her  out  of  hand, 
before  she  had  a  chance  to  learn  that  the  Emperor 
was  ready  to  meet  her  demands.  Egon  had  been 
attentive  to  Miss  Mowbray;  it  might  well  be  believed 
even  by  the  Emperor,  that  the  young  man  had  been 
madly  enough  in  love  to  act  upon  his  own  initiative, 
uninfluenced  by  his  brother. 

The  Chancellor's  first  act  on  parting  with  Leopold 
was  to  telegraph  Captain  von  Breitstein  to  meet  the 
train  by  which  he  would  return  to  Kronburg;  there 
fore  on  arriving  at  the  station  he  was  not  surprised  to 
see  Egon's  handsome  face  prominent  among  others 
less  attractive,  on  the  crowded  platform. 

"  Well  ? "  questioned  the  young  man  as  the  old 
man  descended. 

"  I'm  sorry  to  say  it  is  very  far  from  well.  But  be 
tween  us,  we  shall,  I  hope,  improve  matters.  You  have 
kept  yourself  au  courant  with  everything  that  has 
happened  in  the  camp  of  the  enemy  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"  Is  anything  stirring  ?  " 

"  Say  *  any  one,'  and  I  can  answer  you  more  easily. 
Who  do  you  think  has  arrived  at  the  hotel  ?  " 
[258] 


TRUTH    AND    THE    CHANCELLOR 

"The  devil,  probably,  to  complicate  matters.*' 

"  I've  heard  him  called  so ;  but  a  good-looking  devil, 
and  devilishly  pleasant.  I  met  him  in  his  motor,  in 
which  he'd  driven  into  town  from  his  new  toy,  the 
hunting  lodge  in  - 

"  What !  You  mean  the  Prince  — " 

"Of  Darkness,  you've  just  named  him."  Egon 
gave  a  laugh  at  his  own  repartee,  but  the  Chancellor 
heard  neither.  His  hard  face  brightened.  "That's 
well,"  said  he  grimly.  "  Here  we  have  just  the  young 
man  to  see  us  through  this  bad  pass,  if  he's  as  good 
looking  as  ever,  and  in  his  usual  mood  for  mischief. 
If  we  can  interest  him  in  this  affair,  he  may  save  me 
a  great  deal  of  trouble,  and  you  a  mesalliance." 

"  But  your  wedding  present  to  me  —  "  began  Egon, 
blankly. 

"  Don't  distress  yourself.  Do  what  you  can  to  assist 
me,  and  whatever  the  end,  you  shall  be  my  heir,  I 
promise  you.  Is  the  Prince  at  the  hotel  now  ?  " 

"Yes.  He  had  been  to  call  on  you  at  your  town 
house,  he  stopped  his  automobile  to  tell  me;  and 
hearing  from  me  that  you  would  be  back  this  evening, 
he  decided  to  stay  all  night  at  the  hotel,  so  that  he 
could  have  a  chat  with  you  after  your  return,  no 
[259] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
matter  at  what  hour  it  might  be.  I  believe  he  has  left 
a  note  at  your  house." 

"I  will  go  to  him,  and  we  can  then  discuss  its  contents 
together,"  said  Count  von  Breitstein.  And  the  chauf 
feur  who  drove  his  electric  carriage  was  told  to  go  to 
the  Hohenlangenwald  Hotel. 

The  Prince  who  would,  the  Chancellor  hoped,  be 
come  the  Deus  ex  machina,  was  engaged  in  selecting 
the  wines  for  his  dinner,  when  Count  von  Breitstein 's 
card  was  sent  in.  He  was  pleased  to  say  that  he  would 
receive  his  visitor,  and  (Egon  having  been  sent  about 
his  business)  the  Chancellor  was  shown  into  the 
purple  drawing-room  of  the  suite  reserved  for  Royalty, 

As  he  entered,  a  young  man  jumped  up  from  an 
easy  chair,  scattering  sheaves  of  illustrated  papers, 
and  held  out  both  his  hands,  with  a  "Welcome,  my 
dear  old  friend ! " 

It  would  have  been  vain  to  scour  the  world  in  quest 
of  a  handsomer  young  man  than  th;s  one.  Even  Egon 
von  Breitstein  would  have  seemed  a  more  good-look 
ing  puppet  beside  him,  and  the  Chancellor  rejoiced 
in  the  physical  perfection  of  a  Prince  who  might 
prove  a  dangerous  rival  for  an  absent  Emperor. 

"This  is  the  best  of  good  fortune!"  exclaimed 
[260] 


TRUTH    AND    THE    CHANCELLOR 

Count  von  Breitstein.  '*  Egon  told  me  you  were  here, 
and  without  waiting  to  get  the  note  he  said  you  had 
left  for  me,  I  came  to  you,  straight  from  the  railway 
station." 

"  Splendid !  And  now  you  must  dine  with  me.  It 
was  that  I  asked  of  you  in  my  note.  Dinner  early;  a 
serious  talk;  and  an  antidote  for  solemnity  in  a  visit 
to  the  Leopoldhalle  to  see  Mademoiselle  Felice  from 
the  Folies  Bergere  do  her  famous  Fire  and  Fountain 
dance.  A  box ;  curtains  half  drawn ;  no  one  need  know 
that  the  Chancellor  helps  his  young  friend  amuse 
himself." 

"  I  thank  your  Royal  Highness  for  the  honor  you 
suggest,  and  nothing  could  give  me  greater  pleasure, 
if  I  had  not  a  suggestion  to  venture  in  place  of  yours, 
which  I  believe  may  suit  you  better.  I  think  I  know  of 
what  you  wish  to  talk  with  me,  and  I  desire  the  same, 
while  the  business  I  have  most  at  heart  — ' 

"  Ah,  your  business  is  my  business,  then  ?  " 

"  I  hope  you  may  so  consider  it.  In  any  case  it  is 
business  which  must  be  carried  through  now  or  never, 
and  is  of  life  and  death  importance  to  those  whom 
it  concerns.  How  it's  to  be  done,  or  whether  done  at 

all,  may  depend  on  you,  if  you  consent  to  interest 
[261] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
yourself;  and  it  could  not  be  in  more  competent  hands. 
If  I'd  been  given  my  choice  of  an  assistant,  out  of  the 
whole  world,  I  should  have  chosen  your  Roval  High 
ness." 

"This  sounds  like  an  adventure." 

"  It  may  be  an  adventure,  and  at  the  same  time  an 
act  of  justice." 

"  Good.  Although  it  was  not  in  search  of  an  adven 
ture  that  I  came  to  you,  any  more  than  it  was  the  hope 
of  game  which  brought  me  on  a  sudden  impulse  to 
my  little  hunting  lodge,  still,  I  trust  I  have  always 
the  instinct  of  a  sportsman." 

"  I  am  sure  of  that;  and  I  have  the  less  hesitation  in 
enlisting  your  good-will,  because  it  happens  that  your 
bird  and  mine  can  be  killed  with  one  shot." 

"  Chancellor,  you  excite  my  curiosity." 

The  old  man  smiled  genially;  but  under  the  brist 
ling  brows  glowed  a  flame  as  of  the  last  embers  in  a 
dying  fire.  "  Up-stairs,"  said  he,  "  is  a  pretty  woman; 
a  beauty.  She  claims  the  name  of  Helen  Mowbray, 
though  her  right  to  it  is  more  than  disputable.  Her 
love  affairs  threaten  a  public  scandal." 

"Ah,  you  are  not  the  first  one  who  has  spoken  of 
this  pretty  lady  since  I  crossed  the  frontier  this  mor- 
[262] 


TRUTH  AND  THE  CHANCELLOR 
ning,"  exclaimed  the  young  man,  flushing.  He  paused 
and  bit  his  lip,  before  going  on,  as  if  he  wished  to 
think,  or  regain  self-control.  But  at  last  he  laughed, 
not  altogether  lightly.  "So,  the  lady  most  talked 
about  for  the  moment  in  all  Rhaetia,  is  under  the 
same  roof  with  me." 

"  Fortunately,  she  is  close  at  hand,"  said  the  Chan 
cellor.  "  To  you,  more  than  to  any  other,  I  can  open 
my  heart  in  speaking  of  our  great  peril.  This  girl  has 
drawn  the  Emperor  into  a  fit  of  moon-madness.  It  is 
no  more  serious  than  that,  and  were  she  out  of  the 
way,  he  would  wake  as  from  a  dream.  But  this  is  the 
moment  of  the  crisis.  He  must  be  saved  now,  or  he  is 
lost  forever,  and  all  our  hopes  with  him.  Blessed  would 
be  the  man  who  brought  my  poor  master  to  his  senses. 
I  have  tried  and  failed.  But  you  could  do  it." 

« I  ?  " 

"The  sword  of  justice  is  ready  for  your  hand." 
"  That  sentence  has  a  solemn  ring.  I  don't  see  what 

you  want  me  to  do.  But  —  what  sort  of  woman  is  this 

who  has  bewitched  your  grave  Leopold  ?  " 

"Beautiful,  and  clever,  as  women  are  clever;  but 

not  clever  enough  to  fight  her  battle  out  against  you 

and  me." 

[263] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

The  Prince  laughed  again.  "  It  isn't  my  metier  to 
fight  with  women.  I  prefer  to  make  love  to  them." 

"Ah>  you  have  said  it!  That  is  what  I  beg  your 
Royal  Highness  to  do." 

"How  am  I  to  get  at  her,  when  Leopold  stands 
guard—" 

"He  will  not  be  on  guard  for  some  hours." 

"  Ha,  ha !  You  mean  me  to  understand  that  there's 
no  time  to  waste." 

"Not  a  moment." 

"What  is  the  girl  like?" 

"  Tall  and  slender,  pink  and  white  as  a  flower,  dark- 
lashed  and  yellow-haired,  like  an  Austrian  beauty. 
Eyes  gray  or  violet,  it  would  be  hard  to  say  which, 
for  a  man  of  my  years;  but  even  I  can  assure  you 
that  when  the  lady  looks  down,  then  suddenly  up 
again,  under  those  dark  lashes,  it's  something  to 
quicken  the  pulse  of  any  man  under  sixty." 

"  It  would  quicken  mine  only  to  hear  your  descrip 
tion,  if  you  hadn't  just  put  a  maggot  in  my  head  that 
tickles  me  to  laughter  instead  of  raptures,"  said  the 
Prince.  "  Tell  me  this ;  has  this  girl  a  tiny  black  mole 
just  over  the  left  eyebrow  —  very  fetching;  —  and 
when  she  smiles,  does  her  mouth  point  upward  a  bit 
[264] 


TRUTH    AND    THE    CHANCELLOR 
on  the  right  side,  like  a  fairy  sign-post  showing  the 
way  to  a  small  round  scar,  almost  as  good  as  a  dim 
ple?" 

The  Chancellor  reflected  for  a  fevr  seconds,  and  then 
replied  that,  unless  his  eyesight  and  his  memory  had 
deceived  him,  both  these  marks  were  to  be  met  with 
on  Miss  Mowbray's  face.  He  did  not  add  that  he  had 
seen  her  but  once,  and  at  the  time  had  not  taken  inter 
est  enough  to  note  details;  for  it  was  plain  that  the 
Prince  had  a  theory  as  to  the  lady's  real  identity ;  and 
to  establish  it  as  a  fact  might  be  valuable. 

"  Is  it  possible  that  you've  already  met  this  danger 
ous  young  person  ?  "  he  asked  eagerly. 

"  Well,  I  begin  to  believe  it  may  be  so.  I'll  explain 
why  later;  thereby  hangs  a  confession.  At  all  events, 
a  certain  lady  exactly  answering  the  description 
you've  given,  is  very  likely  in  this  neighborhood; 
I've  heard  that  she  was  shortly  due  in  Kronburg,  and 
it  was  in  my  mind  when  deciding  suddenly  to  spend 
a  few  days  in  the  woods  for  the  sake  of  seeing  you, 
that  I  might  see  her  also  before  I  went  home  again. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  lady  and  I  have  had  a  mis 
understanding,  at  a  rather  unfortunate  moment,  as 

I'd  just  imprudently  taken  her  into  my  confidence 

[265] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
concerning  —  er  —  some  family  affairs.  If  it  is  she 
who  is  masquerading  in  Rhaetia  as  Miss  Mowbray, 
and  turning  your  Emperor's  head,  it  may  be  that 
she's  trying  to  revenge  herself  on  me.  She's  pretty 
enough  to  beguile  St.  Anthony,  let  alone  a  St.  Leopold ; 
and  she's  clever  enough  to  have  thought  out  such  a 
scheme.  Our  small  quarrel  happened  about  four 
weeks  ago,  and  I've  lost  sight  of  the  lady  since;  she 
disappeared,  expecting  probably  to  be  followed;  but 
she  wasn't.  The  only  question  is,  if  she's  playing  Miss 
Mowbray,  where  did  she  get  the  mother  ?  I've  heard 
there  is  a  Mowbray  -mother  ?  " 

"  There's  a  faded  Dresden  china  shepherdess  that 
answers  to  the  name,"  said  the  Chancellor,  dryly. 
"  But  these  mantelpiece  ornaments  are  easily  manu 
factured." 

The  Prince  was  amused.  "No,  she  wouldn't  stick 
at  a  mother,  if  she  wanted  one,"  he  chuckled.  "And 
while  she  was  about  it,  she  has  apparently  annexed 
a  whole  family  tree.  The  black  mole,  and  the  scar- 
dimple,  you're  sure  of  them,  Chancellor  ?  Because,  if 
you  are  —  " 

"  Oh,  I  am  practically  certain ! " 

"  Then,  the  more  pieces  in  the  puzzle  which  I  fit  to- 
[266] 


TRUTH    AND    THE    CHANCELLOR 
gether,  the  more  likely  does  it  seem  that  your  Leo 
pold's  Miss  Helen  Mowbray  and  my  Miss  Jenny 
Brett  are  one  and  the  same." 

"Miss  Jenny  Brett?" 

"  Did  you  never  hear  the  name  ?  " 

"  If  I  have,  I've  forgotten  it." 

"  Chancellor,  you  wouldn't  if  you  were  a  few  years 
younger.  Jenny  Brett  is  the  prettiest  if  not  the  most 
talented  singer  ever  sent  out  from  Australia,  the 
fashionable  home  of  singers.  She  is  billed  to  sing  at 
the  Court  Theater  of  Kronburg  in  a  fortnight,  her 
first  engagement  in  Rhaetia." 

"  You  are  right.  It  may  well  be  that  she's  been  hav 
ing  a  game  with  us  —  a  game  that  we  can  prevent 
now,  thank  Heaven,  from  ending  in  earnest." 

"  Oh,  yes,  we  can  prevent  that." 

"Your  Royal  Highness  met  the  lady  in  your  own 
country  ?  " 

"  N-o.  It  was  in  Paris  at  first,  but  I'm  afraid  I  in 
duced  her  to  accept  an  engagement  at  home.  We  were 
great  friends  for  a  while,  and  really  she's  a  charming 
creature.  I  can't  blame  myself.  Who  would  have 
guessed  that  she'd  turn  out  so  ambitious  ?  By  Jove,  I 
can  sympathize  with  Leopold.  The  girl  tried  to  twist 
[267] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
me  round  her  finger,  and  I  verily  believe  fancied  at 
one  time  that  I  would  offer  her  marriage." 

"It  must  be  the  same  girl.  And  the  Emperor  has 
offered  her  marriage." 

"  What  ?  Impossible !  But  —  with  the  left  hand,  of 
course,  though  even  that  would  be  unheard  of  for  a 
man  in  his  — " 

"I  swear  to  your  Royal  Highness  that  if  he  isn't 
stopped,  he  will  force  her  on  the  Rhaetian  people  as 
Empress." 

"  Gad !  Little  Jenny  Brett !  I  didn't  half  appreciate 
her  brilliant  qualities." 

"Yet  I  would  wager  that  she  appreciated  yours." 

The  Prince  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  I  believe  she 
really  cared  something  for  me  —  a  month  ago." 

"Then  she  still  cares.  You  are  not  a  man  whom 
a  woman  can  forget,  though  pique  or  ambition  may 
lead  her  to  try.  I  tell  you,  frankly,  I  believe  that  Prov 
idence  sent  your  Royal  Highness  here  at  this  moment, 
and  my  best  hopes  are  now  pinned  on  you.  You  — 
and  no  one  as  well  as  you  —  can  save  the  Emperor  for 
a  nobler  fate.  Even  when  I  supposed  you  a  stranger 
to  this  lady  who  calls  herself  Helen  Mowbray,  I 
thought  that,  if  you  would  consent  to  meet  her  and 
[268] 


TRUTH    AND    THE    CHANCELLOR 

exercise  your  fascinations,  there  might  be  hope  of 
averting  the  danger  from  my  master.  Now,  I  hope 
everything.  I  beg,  I  entreat,  that  your  Royal  High 
ness  will  send  up  your  name  and  ask  the  lady  to  see 
you  without  delay.  She  will  certainly  receive  you ;  and 
when  the  Emperor  learns  that  she  has  done  so,  it  may 
go  far  to  disillusion  him,  for  —  pardon  me  —  your 
Royal  Highness  has  a  great  reputation  as  a  lady-killer. 
Still  more  valuable  would  it  be,  however  —  indeed, 
he  would  be  cured  of  his  infatuation  forever,  if  —  if — 

"If  what  ?"  inquired  the  young  man,  tired  of  the 
Chancellor's  long  windedness  and  beating  about  the 
bush. 

"  If  you  could  persuade  her  to  go  out  to  your  hunt 
ing  lodge.  Then  Leopold  and  Rhaetia  would  be  saved 
-  by  you.  What  could  be  better,  what  could  be  more 
suitable  ?  " 

"What  indeed?"  echoed  the  Prince.  "For  every 
one  concerned,  —  except  for  Jenny  Brett." 

"  Considering  the  havoc  she  has  worked  among  us 
all,  need  she  be  considered  —  before  the  interests  of  a 
great  country,  and  —  perhaps  I  may  hint  —  an  inno 
cent  and  lovely  Royal  lady,  whom  this  girl  is  doing  her 
best  to  humiliate  ?  " 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

"  I'm  hanged  if  she  need  be  so  considered !  Anyhow, 

I'll  do  what  you  ask.  I'll  send  up  my  card,  and  then 

we'll  see  what  happens." 

The  Prince  took  from  his  pocket  a  small  gold  case, 
sparkling  with  jewels  —  a  trifle  which  advertised 
itself  as  the  gift  of  a  woman.  Out  of  this  came  a  card, 
with  a  crown  over  the  name  in  the  fashion  of  his 
country  and  some  others.  An  equerry,  waiting  in  an 
adjoining  room,  was  summoned;  the  card  given  to 
him;  passed  on  to  a  hotel  servant;  and  then,  for  five 
minutes,  ten  minutes,  the  old  man  and  the  young 
one  waited,  talking  of  a  subject  very  near  to  both 
their  hearts. 

At  last,  when  they  had  no  more  to  say,  word  came 
that  Lady  Mowbray  and  Miss  Mowbray  would  see 
his  Royal  Highness. 

"The  value  of  a  well  regulated  mother!"  laughed 
the  young  man,  who  had  not  troubled  to  inquire  for 
Lady  Mowbray.  "  Well,  whatever  comes  of  this  inter 
view,  Chancellor,  I  shall  presently  have  something  to 
tell  you." 

"  The  suspense  will  be  hard  to  bear,"  said  Count 
von  Breitstein,  "  but  I  have  perfect  faith  in  you.  We 
understand  each  other  completely  now;  but  —  I'm 


TRUTH    AND    THE    CHANCELLOR 

growing  old,  and  the  past  few  days  have  tried  me 
sorely.  Remember,  I  pray  you,  all  that's  at  stake,  and 
do  not  hesitate  for  an  instant.  Have  no  false  scruple 
with  such  a  person  as  this.  The  Emperor  will  soon 
arrive  in  Kronburg.  He'll  lose  no  time  in  trying  to 
find  the  girl,  and,  once  they've  had  another  meeting, 
all  our  plans,  all  our  precautions,  may  be  in  vain.  He 
searches  for  her,  to  offer  his  crown." 

The  Prince  listened,  and  did  not  smile  as  he  went 
out. 

He  had  bidden  the  Chancellor  await  his  return  in 
the  salon  of  the  Royal  suite,  which  was  always  kept 
at  his  disposal,  when  he  appeared  in  the  neighborhood, 
as  he  often  did  since  purchasing  the  hunting  lodge  a 
few  miles  out  of  Kronburg,  in  the  forest. 

Other  foreign  royalties,  or  lesser  princes  from  the 
provinces,  occasionally  occupied  the  apartments, 
also;  and  this  handsome  Royal  Highness  of  to-day 
was  not  the  only  one  whom  the  Chancellor  of  Rhaetia 
had  visited  there.  He  knew  by  heart  the  rich  purple 
hangings  in  the  salon,  with  the  double  wolf -head  of 
Rhaetia  stamped  in  gold  at  regular  intervals  on  the 
velvet;  and  he  sickened  of  their  splendor  now,  as  the 

moments  dragged,  and  he  remained  alone. 
[271] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

When  half  an  hour  had  passed,  he  could  no  longer 
sit  still  on  the  purple  velvet  sofa,  but  began  walking 
up  and  down,  his  hands  behind  him,  scowling  at  the 
full  length,  oil-painted  portraits  of  Rhaetia's  dead 
rulers;  glaring  a  question  into  his  own  eyes  in  the 
long,  gold  framed  mirrors,  —  a  question  he  would 
have  given  his  life  to  hear  answered  in  the  way  he 
wished. 

Three  quarters  of  an  hour  had  gone  at  last,  and 
still  the  Chancellor  paced  the  purple  drawing-room, 
and  still  the  Prince  did  not  come  back  to  tell  the  news. 

Had  the  young  man  failed  ?  Had  that  Siren  up 
stairs  beguiled  him,  as  she  had  beguiled  one  stronger 
and  greater  than  he  ?  Was  it  possible  that  she  had 
lured  the  whole  secret  of  their  scheme  from  the  Prince, 
and  then  induced  him  to  leave  the  hotel  while  her 
arch  enemy  fumed  in  the  salon,  awaiting  his  return  ? 

But  no,  there  were  quick  footsteps  outside  the  door; 
the  handle  was  turned.  At  least,  his  Royal  Highness 
was  not  a  traitor. 

As  the  Chancellor  had  confessed,  he  was  growing 
old.  He  felt  suddenly  very  weak;  his  lips  fell  apart, 
trembling;  yet  he  would  not  utter  the  words  that  hung 
upon  them. 

[272] 


TRUTH    AND     THE    CHANCELLOR 

Fortunately  the  Prince  read  the  appeal  in  the  glit 
tering  eyes,  and  did  not  wait  to  be  questioned. 

"Well,  I've  seen  the  lady  and  had  a  talk  with  her," 
he  said,  in  a  voice  which  was,  the  old  man  felt,  some 
how  different  in  tone  from  what  it  had  been  an  hour 
ago. 

"  And  is  she  the  person  you  have  known  ?  " 

"  Yes,  she's  a  person  I  have  known.  It's  —  it's  all 
right  about  that  plan  of  yours,  Chancellor.  She's  going 
with  me  to  the  lodge." 

"  Heaven  be  praised !  It  seems  almost  too  good  to  be 
true.  When  does  she  go  ?  " 

"  At  once.  That  is,  as  soon  as  she  can  get  ready. 
She  will  dine  with  me,  and  my  equerry  will  stop  be 
hind  and  eat  the  dinner  I  had  ordered  here." 

"  Magnificent.  Then  she  will  go  with  you  alone  ? 
Nothing  could  be  better.  The  presence  of  the  alleged 
mother  as  chaperon  would  be  a  drawback." 

"  Oh,  no  chaperon  is  needed  for  us  two.  The  —  er 
—  mother  remains  at  the  hotel  with  a  la  —  a  compan 
ion  they  have,  who  is  ill.  It  was  —  er  —  somewhat 
difficult  to  arrange  this  matter,  but  I  don't  think  the 
plot  I  have  in  mind  now  will  fail,  provided  you  carry 
through  your  part  as  smartly  as  I  have  mine." 
[273] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

"  You  may  depend  upon  me.  Your  Royal  Highness 
is  marvelous.  Am  I  to  understand  that  the  lady  goes 
with  you  quite  of  her  own  free  will  ?  " 

"  Quite.  I  flatter  myself  that  she's  rather  pleased 
with  the  invitation.  In  a  few  minutes,  I  and  the  fair 
damsel  will  be  spinning  away  for  a  drive  in  my  red 
motor;  you  know,  the  one  which  I  always  leave  at  the 
lodge,  to  be  ready  for  use  whenever  I  choose  to  pay  a 
flying  visit.  I  shall  keep  her  out  until  it's  dark,  to  give 
you  plenty  of  time,  but  before  starting  I'll  telephone 
to  my  chef  that,  after  all,  I  sha'n't  be  away,  and  he 
must  prepare  dinner  for  two." 

"I  also  will  send  a  telephone  message,"  said  the 
Chancellor. 

"To  Leopold?" 

"Yes,  your  Royal  Highness.  This  time  there  will 
be  no  uncertainty  in  my  words  to  him.  They  will 
strike  home,  and,  even  if  he  should  not  be  intending 
to  come  to  Kronburg  to-night,  they  will  bring 
him." 

"  You  are  sure  you  know  where  to  catch  the  Em 
peror?" 

"He'll  telephone  me  from  Felgarde,  when  he  has 
found  those  he  sought  are  not  there,  *s  he  will;  and  I 
[274] 


TRUTH    AND    THE    CHANCELLOR 
must  be  at  my  house  to  receive  and  answer  his  mes 
sage.  It  will  soon  be  time  now." 

"Very  well,  all  that  seems  to  arrange  itself  satis 
factorily,"  said  the  Prince.  "  Our  motor  drive  can  be 
stretched  out  for  an  hour  and  a  half.  The  lady  will 
then  need  to  dress.  Dinner  can  be  kept  back  till  half 
past  eight,  if  it  would  suit  your  book  to  break  in  upon 
us,  at  the  table.  My  dining-room  isn't  very  grand,  but 
it  has  plenty  of  light  and  color,  and  wouldn't  make  a 
bad  background  for  the  last  act  of  this  little  drama. 
What  do  you  say,  Chancellor  ?  I've  always  thought 
that  your  success  as  a  stage  manager  of  the  Theater 
of  Nations  was  partially  due  to  your  eye  for  dramatic 
effects." 

"Such  effects  are  not  to  be  despised,  considering 
the  audience  we  cater  for  in  that  theater." 

"Well,  I  promise  you  that  for  our  little  amateur 
play  to-night,  in  my  private  theater,  the  footlights 
shall  be  lit,  the  stage  set,  and  two  of  the  principal  pup 
pets  dressed  and  painted  for  the  show,  before  nine. 
I  suppose  you  can  introduce  the  leading  man  by  that 
time  or  a  little  later  ?  " 

The  bristling  brows  drew  together  involuntarily. 
Count  von  Breitstein  was  working  without  scruple 
[275] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
against  the  Emperor,  for  the  Emperor's  good;  yet 
he  winced  at  his  accomplice's  light  jest,  and  it  was  by 
an  effort  that  he  kept  a  note  of  disapproval  out  of  his 
voice. 

"  Unless  I  much  mistake,  his  Majesty  will  order  a 
special  train,  as  soon  as  he  has  had  my  message,"  said 
he.  "  That  and  everything  else  falling  as  I  confidently 
expect,  I  shall  be  able  to  bring  him  out  to  your  Royal 
Highness 's  hunting  lodge  a  little  after  nine." 

"You'll  find  us  at  the  third  course,"  prophesied 
the  Prince. 

"  Naturally,  the  Emperor's  appearance  will  startle 
your  visitor,"  went  on  the  Chancellor,  keenly  watch 
ing  the  young  man's  extraordinarily  handsome  face. 
"  She  would  not  dare  take  the  risk  and  drive  out  with 
you,  great  as  the  temptation  would  no  doubt  be,  did 
she  dream  that  he  would  learn  of  the  escapade,  and 
follow.  Indeed,  your  Royal  Highness  must  have  found 
subtile  weapons  ready  to  your  hand,  that  you  so  soon 
broke  through  the  armor  of  her  prudence.  I  expected 
much  from  your  magnetism  and  resourceful  wit,  yet 
I  hardly  dared  hope  for  such  speedy,  such  unqualified 
success  as  this  which  now  seems  assured  to  us." 

"  My  weapons  were  sharpened  on  my  past  acquaint- 
[276] 


TRUTH  AND  THE  CHANCELLOR 
ance  with  the  pretty  lady,"  explained  the  Prince. 
"Otherwise  the  result  might  have  been  postponed 
for  as  many  days  as  I  have  delayed  moments, 
though  at  last,  the  end  might  have  been  the 
same  " 

"  Not  for  Rhaetia.  Every  instant  counts.  Thanks  to 
you,  we  shall  win ;  for  actress  as  this  girl  is,  she'll  find 
it  a  task  beyond  her  powers  to  justify  to  a  jealous 
man  this  evening's  tete-a-tete  with  you." 

"  If  she  tests  those  powers  in  our  presence,  we  can 
be  audience  and  admire  her  histrionic  talents,"  said 
the  Prince,  pleasantly,  though  with  some  faint,  grow 
ing  sign  of  constraint  or  perhaps  impatience.  "There's 
no  doubt  in  my  mind,  whatever  may  be  the  lady's 
conception  of  her  part,  about  the  final  tableau.  And 
after  all,  it's  with  that  alone  you  concern  yourself  — 
eh,  Chancellor?" 

"It's  that  alone,"  echoed  the  old  man. 

"  Then  you  would  like  to  go  and  await  the  message. 
There's  nothing  more  for  us  to  arrange.  Au  revoir, 
Chancellor,  till  nine." 

"Till  nine." 

"When  the  curtain  for  the  last  act  will  ring  up." 

The  Prince  held  out  his  hand.  Count  von  Breitstein 
1*771 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
grasped  it,  and  then  hurried  to  his  electric  carriage 
which  had  been  waiting  outside  the  hotel.  A  few 
minutes  later,  he  was  talking  over  the  wire  to  the  Em 
peror  in  the  railway  station  at  Felgarde. 


[278] 


CHAPTER  XVII 
THE  OLDNESS  OF  THE  CHANCELLOR 

LEOPOLD    thought  it    more    than    possible 
that,  by  the  time  of  his  return  to  Kronburg, 
the  Chancellor  would    be    as    anxious    to 
wriggle  out  of  his  proposal  to    visit    the    Prince's 
hunting  lodge,  as  he  had  been  to  have  it  accepted 
a  few  hours  before. 

"He  sha'n't  escape  his  humiliation,  though,"  the 
Emperor  told  himself.  "  He  shall  go,  and  he  shall  beg 
forgiveness  for  his  suspicions,  in  sackcloth  and  ashes. 
Nothing  else  can  satisfy  me  now." 

Thinking  thus,  Leopold  looked  sharply  from  the 
window  as  his  special  slowed  into  the  central  station 
at  Kronburg,  along  the  track  which  had  been  kept 
clear  for  its  arrival.  No  other  train  was  due  at  the 
moment,  therefore  few  persons  were  on  the  platform, 
and  a  figure  in  a  long  gray  coat,  with  its  face  shad 
owed  by  a  slouch  hat,  was  conspicuous. 
[279] 


THE   PRINCESS   VIRGINIA 

The  Emperor  had  expected  to  see  that  figure;  but 
vaguely  he  wished  there  were  not  so  much  briskness 
and  self-confidence  in  the  set  of  the  massive  head  and 
shoulders.  The  young  man  believed  absolutely  in  his 
love;  but  he  would  have  been  gratified  to  detect  a 
something  of  depression  in  the  enemy's  air,  which  he 
might  translate  as  a  foreknowledge  of  failure. 

"I  hope  your  Majesty  will  forgive  the  liberty  I 
have  taken,  in  coming  to  the  station  without  a  dis 
tinct  invitation  to  do  so,"  were  the  Chancellor's  first 
words  as  he  met  the  Emperor.  "Knowing  that  you 
would  almost  certainly  arrive  by  special  train,  I  came 
down  from  my  house  some  time  ago,  that  I  might  be 
on  hand  without  fail  when  you  arrived,  to  place  my 
electric  carriage  at  your  service.  I  thought  it  probable 
that  you  would  not  have  sent  to  the  Palace,  and  there 
fore  it  might  save  you  some  slight  inconvenience  if  I 
were  on  the  spot.  If  you  will  honor  my  poor  convey 
ance  —  " 

"Don't  let  us  delay  our  business  for  explanations 
or  compliments,  if  you  please,  Chancellor,"  the  Em 
peror  cut  him  short,  brusquely.  "I  counted  on  your 
being  here,  with  your  carriage.  Now  for  the  hunting 

lodge  in  the  woods ! " 

[280] 


THE  OLDNESS  OF  THE  CHANCELLOR 

As  he  spoke,  his  eyes  were  on  the  old  man's  face, 
which  he  hoped  to  see  fall,  or  change;  but  there  was 
no  visible  sign  of  discomfiture,  and  von  Breitstein 
made  no  attempt  to  excuse  himself  from  making  the 
proposed  visit.  Evidently  nothing  had  happened  dur 
ing  the  hours  since  the  message  by  telephone,  to 
change  the  Chancellor's  mind. 

"Yes,  your  Majesty,"  came  the  prompt  response. 
"  Now  for  the  hunting  lodge  in  the  woods.  I  am  ready 
to  go  with  you  there  —  as  I  always  have  been,  and 
always  shall  be  ready  to  serve  you  when  I  am 
needed." 

It  was  on  Leopold's  tongue  to  say,  that  it  would  be 
well  if  his  Chancellor's  readiness  could  be  confined  to 
those  occasions  when  it  was  needed;  but  he  shut  his 
lips  upon  the  words,  and  walked  by  the  old  man's 
side  in  frozen  silence. 

The  carriage  was  waiting  just  outside  the  station, 
and  the  moment  the  two  men  were  seated,  the  chauf 
feur  started,  noiselessly  and  swiftly. 

Both  windows  were  closed,  to  keep  out  the  chill  of 

the  night  air,  but  soon  Leopold  impatiently  lowered 

one,  forgetting  the  Chancellor's  old-fashioned  hatred 

of  draughts,  and  stared  into  the  night.  Already  they 

[281] 


THE    PRINCESS   VIRGINIA 
were  approaching  the  outskirts  of  the  great  town, 
and  flying  past  the  dark  warehouses  and  factories  of 
the  neighborhood,  they  sped  toward  the  open  coun 
try. 

The  weather,  still  warm  the  evening  before  —  that 
evening  of  moonlight,  not  to  be  forgotten  —  had 
turned  cold  with  morning;  and  to-night  there  was  a 
pungent  scent  of  dying  leaves  in  the  air.  It  smote  Leo 
pold  in  the  face,  with  the  wind  of  motion,  and  it 
seemed  to  him  the  essential  perfume  of  sadness. 
Never  again  would  he  inhale  that  fragrance  of  the 
falling  year  without  recalling  this  hour. 

He  was  half  mad  with  impatience  to  reach  the  end 
of  the  journey,  and  confound  the  Chancellor  once  for 
all;  yet,  as  the  swift  electric  carriage  spun  smoothly 
along  the  white  road,  and  landmark  after  landmark 
vanished  behind  tree-branches  laced  with  stars, 
something  within  him,  would  at  last  have  stayed  the 
flying  moments,  had  that  been  possible.  He  burned  to 
ask  questions  of  von  Breitstein,  yet  would  have  died 
rather  than  utter  them. 

It  was  a  relief  to  the  Emperor,  when,  after  a  long 
silence,    his    companion    spoke,  —  though    a    relief 
which  carried  with  it  a  prick  of  resentment.  Even  the 
[282] 


THE  OLDNESS  OF  THE  CHANCELLOR 

Chancellor  had  no  right  to  speak  first,  without  per 
mission  from  his  sovereign. 

"Forgive  me,  your  Majesty,"  the  old  man  said. 
"Your  anger  is  hard  to  bear;  yet  I  bear  it  uncom 
plainingly  because  of  my  confidence  that  the  reward 
is  not  far  off.  I  look  for  it  no  further  in  the  future  than 
to-night." 

"  I,  too,  believe  that  you  won't  miss  your  reward !" 
returned  the  Emperor  sharply. 

"  I  shall  have  it,  I  am  sure,  not  only  in  your  Ma 
jesty's  forgiveness,  but  in  your  thanks." 

"  I'll  forgive  you  when  you've  asked  my  pardon  for 
your  suspicions,  and  when  you've  found  Miss  Mow- 
bray  for  me." 

"  I  have  already  found  her,  and  am  taking  you  to 
her  now." 

"  Then,  you  actually  believe  in  your  own  story  ? 
You  believe  that  this  sweet  and  beautiful  young  girl 
is  a  fast  actress,  a  schemer,  a  friend  of  your  notor 
iously  gallant  friend,  and  willing  to  risk  her  reputation 
by  paying  a  late  visit,  unchaperoned,  to  him  at  his 
hunting  lodge  in  the  woods !  You  are  after  all  a  very 
poor  judge  of  character,  if  you  dream  that  we  shall 
see  her  there." 

[283] 


THE  PRINCESS  VIRGINIA 
"  I  shall  see  her,  your  Majesty.  And  you  will  see  her, 
unless  the  madness  you  call  love  has  blinded  the  eyes 
of  your  body  as  well  as  the  eyes  of  your  mind.  That 
she  is  now  at  the  lodge  I  know,  for  the  Prince  assured 
me  with  his  own  lips  that  she  had  promised  to  motor 
out  alone  with  him,  and  dine." 

"  You  mean,  he  told  you  that  his  friend  the  actress 
had  promised.  I'll  stake  my  life,  even  he  didn't  dare 
to  say  Miss  Mowbray." 

"He  said  Miss  Brett,  the  actress,  it's  true.  But 
when  he  called  upon  her  at  her  hotel  (where  he  and  I 
met  to  discuss  a  matter  which  is  no  secret  to  your 
Majesty),  he  asked  for  Miss  Mowbray.  And  the  mes 
sage  that  came  down,  I  heard.  It  was  that  Miss  Mow 
bray  would  be  delighted  to  see  his  Royal  Highness. 
This  left  no  doubt  in  my  mind  that,  after  giving  out 
that  she  would  leave  to-day,  the  lady  had  remained 
in  Kronburg  for  the  express  purpose  of  meeting  her 
dear  friend  the  Prince,  the  handsomest  and  best 
dressed  young  man  in  Europe  —  after  your  Majesty, 
of  course.  And  it  was  quite  natural  for  her  to  hope 
that,  as  she  was  supposed  to  be  gone,  and  you  were 
following  her,  this  evening's  escapade  would  never 

be  discovered." 

[284] 


THE  OLDNESS  OF  THE  CHANCELLOR 
"Please  spare  me  your  deductions,  Chancellor," 
said  the  Emperor,  curtly,  "and  pray  understand 
now,  if  you  have  not  understood  before,  that  I  am 
with  you  in  this  expedition  not  to  prove  you  right,  but 
wrong;  and  nothing  you  can  say  will  convince  me  thsrt 
the  Prince's  actress  and  Miss  Mowbray  are  one.  If  we 
find  a  woman  at  the  hunting  lodge,  it  will  not  be  the 
lady  we  seek  —  unless  she  has  been  kidnapped ;  and 
as  you  will  presently  be  obliged  to  eat  every  word 
you've  spoken,  the  fewer  such  bitter  pills  you  provide 
for  yourself  to  swallow,  the  better." 

Thus  snubbed  by  the  young  man  whom  he  had 
held  in  his  arms,  an  imperious  as  well  as  an  Imperial 
infant,  the  old  statesman  sought  sanctuary  in  silence. 
But  he  had  said  that  which  had  been  in  his  mind  to 
say,  and  he  was  satisfied.  Meekness  was  not  his  metier, 
yet  he  could  play  the  part  of  the  faithful  servant, 
humbly  loyal  through  injustice  and  misunderstand 
ing;  and  he  played  it  now,  because  he  knew  it  to  be 
the  one  effective  role.  He  sat  beside  the  Emperor  with 
bowed  head,  and  stooping  shoulders  which  sug 
gested  the  weakness  of  old  age,  his  hands  clasped 
before  him;  and  from  time  to  time  he  sighed 

patiently. 

[285] 


THE   PRINCESS   VIRGINIA 

As  they  glided  under  the  dark  arch  of  the  Buchen- 
wald,  Leopold  spoke  again. 

"  You  have  led  me  to  suppose  that  our  call  at  the 
hunting  lodge  will  be  a  surprise  visit  to  the  Prince. 
That  is  the  case,  isn't  it?" 

Count  von  Breitstein  would  have  preferred  that  the 
question  had  not  been  asked.  He  had  intended  to  con 
vey  the  impression  which  the  Emperor  had  received, 
but  he  had  not  clothed  it  in  actual  statement.  Luckily 
the  Prince  was  as  clever  as  he  was  good  looking,  and 
he  could  be  trusted  as  an  actor,  otherwise  the  old 
man  would  have  been  still  more  reluctant  to  commit 
himself. 

"  Were  our  visit  expected,  we  should  not  be  likely 
to  find  the  lady,"  said  he.  "  The  Prince  and  I  are  on 
such  friendly  terms,  your  Majesty,  that  he  didn't 
mind  confessing  he  was  to  have  a  pretty  actress  as  his 
guest.  He  also  answered  a  few  questions  I  asked  con 
cerning  her,  freely  and  frankly,  for  to  do  so  he  had  to 
tell  me  only  what  the  world  knows.  How  could  he 
dream  that  the  flirtations  or  the  visits  of  a  Miss  Jenny 
Brett  could  be  of  the  slightest  importance  to  the  Em 
peror  of  Rhaetia  ?  Had  he  guessed,  however,  that 
the  entertainment  he  meant  to  offer  her  might  be 
[286] 


THE   OLDNESS    OF   THE    CHANCELLOR 
interrupted,  naturally  he  would    have  taken   some 
means  to  protect  her  from  annoyance." 

"This  night's  work  will  give  him  cause  to  pick  a 
private  quarrel  with  me,  if  he  likes,"  said  the  Em 
peror,  convinced  of  the  Chancellor's  good  faith. 

"  I  don't  think  he  will  choose,  your  Majesty.  You 
are  in  a  mood  to  be  glad  if  he  did,  I  fear.  But  no;  I 
need  not  fear.  You  will  always  remember  Rhaetia, 
and  put  her  interests  before  your  own  wishes." 

"You  weren't  as  confident  of  that  a  few  hours 
ago." 

"  Even  then  I  knew  that,  when  the  real  test  should 
be  applied,  your  Majesty's  cool  head  would  triumph 
over  the  hot  impulse  of  youth.  But  see,  we're  passing 
through  the  village  of  Inseleden,  fast  asleep  already; 
every  window  dark.  In  six  or  seven  minutes  at  this 
speed,  we  shall  be  at  the  lodge." 

The  Emperor  laughed  shortly.  "  Add  another  seven 
minutes  to  your  first  seven,  and  we  shall  be  out  of  the 
lodge  again,  with  Chancellor  von  Breitstein  a  sadder 
and  a  wiser  man  than  he  went  in." 

Meekness  was  once  more  the  part  for  the  old  man 
to  play,  and  raising  his  hands,  palm  upwards,  in  a 
gesture    of    generous    indulgence    for    his    young 
[287] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

sovereign,  he  denied  himself  the  pleasure  of 
retort. 

The  hunting  lodge  in  the  wood,  now  the  property 
of  the  Chancellor's  accommodating  young  friend, 
had  until  recently  belonged  to  a  Rhaetian  semi-Royal 
Prince,  who  had  been  compelled  by  lack  of  sympathy 
among  his  creditors  to  sell  something,  and  had 
promptly  sold  the  thing  he  cared  for  least.  The  pres 
ent  owner  was  a  keen  sportsman,  and  though  he  came 
seldom  to  the  place,  had  spent  a  good  deal  of  money 
in  repairing  the  quaint,  rustic  house. 

Years  had  passed  since  the  Emperor  had  done  more 
than  pass  the  lodge  gates ;  and  now  the  outlines  of  the 
low  rambling  structure  looked  strange  to  him,  sil 
houetted  against  a  spangled  sky.  He  was  glad  of  this, 
for  he  had  spent  some  joyous  days  here  as  a  boy,  and 
he  wished  to  separate  the  old  impressions  and  the 
new. 

Two  tall  chimneys  stood  up  like  the  pricked  ears 
of  some  alert,  crouching  animal.  The  path  to  the  lodge 
gleamed  white  and  straight  in  the  darkness  as  a  part 
ing  in  the  roughjblack  hair  of  a  giant.  The  trees  whis 
pered  gossip  to  each  other  in  the  wind,  and  it  seemed 
to  Leopold  that  they  were  evil  things  telling  lies  and 

[288] 


THE  OLDNESS  OF  THE  CHANCELLOR 
slandering  his  love.  He  hated  them,  and  their  rustling, 
which  once  he  had  loved.  He  hated  the  yellow  eyes  of 
the  animal  with  the  pricked  ears,  glittering  eyes  which 
were  lighted  windows;  he  hated  the  young  Prince 
who  owned  the  place;  and  he  would  have  hated  the 
Chancellor  more  than  all,  had  not  the  old  man  limped 
as  he  walked  up  the  path,  showing  how  heavy  was  the 
burden  of  his  years,  as  he  had  never  shown  it  to  his 
Emperor  before. 

The  path  led  to  a  hooded  entrance,  and  ascending 
the  two  stone  steps,  the  Chancellor  lifted  the  mailed 
glove  which  did  duty  as  a  knocker.  Twice  he  brought 
it  down  on  the  oak  panel  underneath,  and  the  sound 
of  metal  smiting  against  wood  went  echoing  through 
the  house,  with  an  effect  of  emptiness  and  des 
olation. 

Nobody  came  to  answer  the  summons,  and  Leopold 
smiled  in  the  darkness.  He  thought  it  likely  that  even 
the  Prince  was  not  at  home.  A  practical  joke  had 
been  played  on  the  Chancellor ! 

Again  the  mailed  fist  struck  the  panel;  an  echo 
alone  replied.  Count  von  Breitstein  began  to  be 
alarmed  for  the  success  of  his  plan.  He  thanked  the 
night  which  hid  from  the  keen  eyes  of  the  Em- 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
peror  —  cynical  now,  no  doubt  —  the   telltale  vein 
beating  hard  in  his  forehead. 

"  Don't  you  think,  Chancellor,  that  after  all,  you'd 
better  try  and*take  me  to  some  more  probable,  as  well 
as  more  suitable,  place  to  look  for  Miss  Mowbray  ?  " 
he  suggested,  with  a  drawl  intended  to  be  as  aggra 
vating  as  it  actually  was.  "  There  doesn't  appear  to  be 
any  one  about.  Even  the  care-takers  are  out  courting, 
perhaps." 

"But  listen,  your  Majesty,"  said  von  Breitstein, 
when  he  knocked  again. 

Leopold  did  listen,  and  heard  the  ring  of  a  heel  on 
a  floor  of  stone  or  marble. 


[290] 


CHAPTER    XVIII 
NOT   AT    HOME 

IT  was  a  jager  clad  in  green  who  opened   the 
door  of  the  hunting  lodge,  and  gazed,  apparently 
without  recognition,  at  the  two  men  standing 
in  the  dark  embrasure  of  the  porch. 

"  We  wish  to  see  his  Royal  Highness,  your  master," 
said  the  Chancellor,  taking  the  initiative,  as  he 
knew  the  Emperor  would  wish  him  to  do. 

"  His  Royal  Highness  is  not  at  home,  sir,"  replied 
the  jager. 

Leopold's  eyes  lightened  as  he  threw  a  glance  of 
sarcastic  meaning  at  his  companion.  But  Iron  Heart 
was  undaunted.  He  knew  very  well  now,  that  this  was 
only  a  prelude  to  the  drama  which  would  follow ;  and 
though  he  had  suffered  a  sharp  pang  of  anxiety  at 
first,  he  saw  that  his  Royal  friend  was  playing  with 
commendable  realism.  Naturally,  when  beautiful 
young  actresses  ventured  into  the  forest  unchaper- 
[291] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
oned,  to  dine  with  fascinating  princes,  the  least  that 
such  favored  gentlemen  could  do  was  to  be  "  not  at 
home  "  to  an  intrusive  public. 

"You  are  mistaken,"  insisted  the  Chancellor,  "his 
Royal  Highness  is  at  home,  and  will  receive  us.  It 
will  be  better  for  you  to  admit  us  without  further  de 
lay." 

Under  the  domination  of  those  eyes  which  could 
quell  a  turbulent  Reichstag,  the  jager  weakened,  as 
his  master  had  doubtless  expected  him  to  do  after  the 
first  resistance. 

"  It  may  be  I  have  made  a  mistake,  sir,"  he  stam 
mered,  "  though  I  do  not  think  so.  If  you  will  have  the 
kindness  to  walk  in  and  wait  for  a  few  minutes  until 
I  can  inquire  whether  his  Royal  Highness  has  come 
home,  or  will  come  home  —  " 

"  That  is  not  necessary,"  said  the  Chancellor.  "  His 
Royal  Highness  dines  here  this  evening.  We  will  go 
with  you  to  the  door  of  the  dining-room,  which  you 
will  open  for  us,  and  announce  that  two  gentlemen 
wish  to  see  him." 

With  this,  all  uncertainty  in  the  mind  of  the  jager 
was  swept  away.  He  knew  his  duty  and  determined 
to  stand  by  it;  and  the  Chancellor  saw  that,  if  the 
[292] 


At  sight  of  her  the  Emperor  stopped  on  the 
threshold 


NOT    AT    HOME 

master  had  given  instructions  meaning  them  to  be 
over-ridden,  at  least  the  servant  was  sincere.  He  put 
himself  in  the  doorway,  and  looked  an  obstacle  diffi 
cult  to  dislodge. 

"That  is  impossible,  sir!"  he  exclaimed. 
"I  have  had  my  orders,  which  are  that  his  Royal 
Highness  is  not  at  home  to-night,  and  until  I  know 
whether  or  not  these  orders  are  to  stand,  no 
body,  not  if  it  were  the  Emperor,  should  force  his 
way." 

"  Fool,  those  orders  are  not  for  us ;  and  it  is  the 
Emperor  who  will  go  in."  With  a  step  aside,  the 
Chancellor  let  the  light  from  the  hanging  lamp  in  the 
hall  shine  full  upon  Leopold's  face,  hitherto  masked 
in  shadow. 

His  boast  forgotten,  the  jager  uttered  a  cry  of  dis 
may,  and  with  a  sudden  failing  of  the  knees,  he  moved, 
and  left  the  doorway  free. 

"Your  Majesty!"  he  faltered.  "I  did  not  see  —  I 
could  not  know.  Most  humbly  I  beg  your  Majesty's 
gracious  pardon.  If  your  Majesty  will  but  hold  me 
blameless  with  my  master  —  " 

"  Never  mind  yourself,  and  never  mind  your  mas 
ter,"  broke  in  the  Chancellor.  "  Open  that  door  at  the 
[293] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
end  of   the  hall,  and  announce  the  Emperor  and 
Count  von  Breitstein." 

The  unfortunate  jager,  approaching  a  state  of  col 
lapse,  obeyed.  The  door  of  the  dining-room,  which 
Leopold  knew  of  old,  was  thrown  open,  and  a 
quavering  voice  heralded  "  His  Imperial  Majesty  the 
Emperor,  and  the  Herr  Chancellor  Count  von  Breit 
stein." 

The  scene  disclosed  was  as  unreal  to  Leopold's  eyes 
as  a  painted  picture;  the  walls  of  Pompeian  red;  the 
gold  candelabra;  the  polished  floor,  spread  with  the 
glimmering  fur  of  Polar  bears;  and  in  the  center  a 
flower-decked  table  lit  with  pink-shaded  lights,  and 
sparkling  with  gold  and  crystal ;  springing  up  from  a 
chair  which  faced  the  door,  a  young  man  in  evening 
dress;  sitting  motionless,  her  back  half  turned,  a 
slender  girl  in  bridal  white. 

At  sight  of  her  the  Emperor  stopped  on  the 
threshold.  All  the  blood  in  his  body  seemed  rushing 
to  his  head,  then  surging  back  upon  his  heart. 

The  impossible  had  happened. 


[294] 


CHAPTER    XIX 
THE  THIRD  COURSE 

THE  Prince  came  forward.  "  What  a  delight 
ful  surprise,"  he  said.  "How  good  of  you 
both  to  look  me  up !    But  I  wish  my  pro 
phetic  soul  had  warned  me  to  keep  back   dinner. 
We  have  just  reached  the  third   course."    And  his 
eyes  met  the  Chancellor's. 

"All  the  same,"  he  went  on,  "I  beg  that  you  will 
honor  me  by  dining.  Everything  can  be  ready  in  a 
moment;  and  the  bisque  eccrevisso  — 

"Thank  you,"  cut  in  the  Emperor.  "We  cannot 
dine."  His  voice  came  hoarsely,  as  if  a  fierce  hand 
pinched  his  throat.  "  Our  call  is  purely  one  of  busi 
ness,  and  —  a  moment  will  see  it  finished.  We  owe 
you  an  explanation  for  this  intrusion."  He  paused. 
All  his  calculations  were  upset  by  the  Chancellor's 
triumph;  for  to  plan  beforehand,  what  he  should  do 
if  he  found  Helen  Mowbray  dining  here  alone  with 
[295] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 
the  Prince,  would  have  been  to  insult  her.  His  cam 
paign  had  been  arranged  in  the  event  of  the  Chan 
cellor's  defeat. 

Now,  the  one  course  he  saw  open  before  him  was 
frankness. 

To  look  at  the  girl,  and  meet  guilt  or  defiance  in 
her  eyes  would  be  agony,  therefore  he  would  not  look, 
though  he  saw  her,  and  her  alone,  as  he  stood  gazing 
with  a  strained  fixedness  at  the  Prince. 

He  knew  that  she  had  risen,  not  in  frightened  haste, 
but  with  a  leisured  and  dainty  dignity.  Now,  her  face 
was  turned  to  him.  He  felt  it,  as  a  blind  man  may 
feel  the  rising  of  the  sun. 

He  wished  that  she  had  died  before  this  moment, 
that  they  had  both  died  last  night  in  the  garden,  while 
he  held  her  in  his  arms,  and  their  hearts  beat  together. 
She  had  told  him  then  that  she  loved  him ;  yet  she  was 
here,  with  this  man  —  here,  of  her  own  free  will,  the 
same  girl  he  had  worshiped  as  a  goddess  in  the 
white  moonlight,  twenty-four  hours  ago. 

The  thought  was  hot  in  his  heart  as  the  searing 
touch  of  iron  red  from  the  fire.  The  same  girl ! 

His  blood  sang  in  his  ears,  a  song  of  death,  and  for 
an  instant  all  was  black  around  him.  He  groped  in 
[296] 


THE    THIRD    COURSE 

black  chaos  where  there  was  neither  light  nor  hope, 
and  dully  he  was  conscious  of  the  Chancellor's  voice 
saying,  "Your  Majesty,  if  you  are  satisfied,  would 
you  not  rather  go  ?  " 

Then  the  dark  spell  broke.  Light  showered  over 
him,  as  from  a  golden  fountain,  for  in  spite  of  himself 
he  had  met  the  girl's  eyes.  The  same  eyes,  because 
she  was  the  same  girl;  sweet  eyes,  pure  and  innocent, 
and  wistfully  appealing. 

"  My  God ! "  he  cried,  "  tell  me  why  you  are  here, 
and  whatever  you  may  say,  I  will  believe  you,  in  spite 
of  all  and  through  all,  because  you  are  You,  and  I 
know  that  you  can  do  no  wrong." 

"Your  Majesty!"  exclaimed  the  Chancellor.  But 
the  Emperor  did  not  hear.  With  a  broken  exclamation 
that  was  half  a  sob,  the  girl  held  out  both  her  hands, 
and  Leopold  sprang  forward  to  crush  them  between 
his  ice-cold  palms. 

"Thank  Heaven!"  she  faltered.  "You  are  true! 
You've  stood  the  test.  I  love  you." 

"  At  last,  then,  I  can  introduce  you  to  my  sister  Vir 
ginia,"  said  the  Crown  Prince  of  Hungaria,  with  a 
great  sigh  of  relief  for  the  ending  of  his  difficult  part. 

[297] 


CHAPTER  XX 
AFTER  THE  CURTAIN  WENT  DOWN 

THEY  were  alone  together.  Adalbert  and 
Count  von  Breitstein  had  stolen  from  the 
room,  and  had  ceased  to  exist  for  Leopold 
and  Virginia. 

"I'll  tell  you  now,  why  I'm  here,  and  everything 
else,"  she  was  saying;  but  the  Emperor  stopped  her. 

"  Ever  since  I  came  to  myself,  I  wanted  no  explana 
tion,"  he  said.  "  I  wanted  only  you.  That  is  all  I  want 
now.  I  am  the  happiest  man  in  the  universe.  Why 
should  I  ask  how  I  came  by  my  happiness  ?  Virginia ! 
Virginia !  It's  a  more  beautiful  name  even  than  Helen. 

"  But  listen,"  she  pleaded.  "  There  are  some  things 
—  just  a  few  things  —  that  I  long  to  tell  you.  Please 
let  me.  Last  night  I  wished  to  go  into  a  convent.  Oh, 
it  was  because  I  loved  you  so  much,  I  wanted  you 
to  seem  perfect,  as  my  hero  of  romance,  just  as  you 
were  already  perfect  as  an  Emperor.  To  think  that 


AFTER   THE    CURTAIN    WENT   DOWN 
I  should   have  been  far  away,  out  of  Rhaetia,  by 

•  *^    %i.  •*"• 

this  time,  if  Miss  Portman^  hadn't  been  ill.  Dear 
Miss  Portman !  Maybe  if  we'd  gone,  nothing  would 
ever  have  come  right.  Who  can  say  ? 

"You  know,  my  brother  came  to  our  hotel  this 
afternoon.  When  his  card  arrived,  we  couldn't  tell 
whether  he  knew  our  secret  or  not ;  but  when  we  had  let 
him  come  up,  we  had  only  to  see  his  face  of  surprise ! 
He  was  angry,  too,  as  well  as  surprised,  for  he  blurted 
out  that  there  were  all  sorts  of  horrid  suspicions 
against  us,  and  mother  explained  everything  to  him 
before  I  could  have  stopped  her,  even  if  I  would ;  how 
I  had  not  wanted  to  accept  you  unless  you  could  learn 
to  love  me  for  myself ,  and  then  —  how  I  had  been 
disappointed.  No,  don't  speak;  that's  all  over  now. 
You've  more  than  atoned,  a  thousand  times  more. 

"  Dal  explained  things,  too,  then  —  very  different 
things;  about  a  plan  of  the  Chancellor's  to  disgust 
you  with  me,  and  how  he  —  Dal  —  had  played  into 
the  Chancellor's  hands,  because,  you  see,  he  thought 
he  was  acting  wisely  for  his  neglected  sister's  sake, 
and  because  he  had  really  supposed  an  actress  he 
knows  was  masquerading  as  Miss  Mowbray.  Very 
imprudently  he'd  told  her  that  some  day  there  might 
[299] 


THE    PRINCESS    VIRGINIA 

be  —  something  between  you  and  his  sister.  She 
knew  quite  well,  too,  that  the  real  Mowbrays  were 
our  cousins ;  so  you  see,  as  she  and  he  have  quarreled 
it  might  have  been  an  easy  and  clever  way  for  an  un 
scrupulous  woman  to  take  revenge.  Dal  would  have 
gone,  and  perhaps  have  said  dreadful  things  to  the 
Chancellor,  who  was  waiting  down-stairs  for  news, 
but  I  begged  him  not.  From  being  the  saddest  girl  in 
the  world,  I'd  suddenly  become  the  happiest,  for  the 
Chancellor  had  told  Dal,  and  Dal  had  told  me,  that 
you  had  followed  Helen  Mowbray  to  ask  her  to  be  the 
Empress.Th&t  changed  everything,  for  then  I  knew 
you  really  loved  her;  but  —  just  to  punish  you  for 
what  I  suffered  through  you  last  night,  I  longed  to 
put  you  to  one  more  test.  I  said, '  Let  the  Chancellor 
carry  out  his  plot.  Let  me  go  with  you  to  your  hunting 
lodge.'  At  first  Dal  wouldn't  consent,  but  when  I 
begged  him,  he  did,  —  for  generally  I  can  get  my 
way  with  people,  I  warn  you. 

:<  That's  all,  except  that  I  hadn't  realized  how 
severe  the  test  would  be,  until  you  came  in  and  I  saw 
the  look  in  your  eyes.  It  was  a  dagger  of  ice  in  my 
heart.  I  prayed  Heaven  to  make  you  believe  in  me, 
without  a  word,  oh,  how  I  prayed  through  all  that 
[300] 


mr*+* 

E< 


never  be  old,  for  we  love  each  other" 
said  the  Emperor 


AFTER   THE    CURTAIN   WENT   DOWN 
dreadful  moment,  and  how  I  looked  at  you,  saying 
with  my  eyes,  'I  love  you;  I  am  true/  If  you  had 
failed  me  then,  it  would  have  killed  me,  but  — " 

"There  could  be  no  but,"  the  Emperor  broke  in. 
"To  doubt  is  not  to  love.  When  a  man  loves,  he 
knows.  Even  out  of  darkness,  a  light  comes  and  tells 
him." 

"  Then  you  forgive  me  —  for  to-night,  and  for  every 
thing,  from  the  beginning  ?  " 

"  Forgive  you  ?  " 

"And  if  I'd  been  different,  more  like  other  girls 
content  with  a  conventional  affection,  you  wouldn't 
have  loved  me  more  ?  " 

He  took  her  in  his  arms  and  held  her  as  if  he  would 
never  let  her  go. 

"  If  you  had  been  different,  I  wouldn't  have  loved 
you  at  all,"  he  said.  But  if  things  had  been  differ 
ent,  I  couldn't  have  helped  loving  you,  just  the 
same.  I  should  have  been  fated  to  fall  in  love  with 
Princess  Virginia  of  Baumenburg-Drippe  at  first 

sight,  exactly  I  as  fell  in  love  with  Helen   Mowbray 

» 

"Ah,  but  at  best  you'd  have  fallen  in  love  with 
Virginia  because  it  was  your  duty;  and  you  fell  in 
[301] 


THE    PRINECSS    VIRGINIA 
love  with  Helen  Mowbray  because  it  was  your  duty 
not  to.  Which  makes  it  so  much  nicer." 

"  It  was  no  question  of  duty,  but  of  destiny,"  said 
the  Emperor.  "The  stars  ordained  that  I  should  love 
you." 

"  Then  I  wish  -  "  and  Virginia  laughed  happily, 
as  she  could  afford  to  laugh  now  —  "  that  the  stars 
had  told  me,  last  summer.  It  would  have  saved  me  a 
a  great  deal  of  trouble.  And  yet  I  don't  know,"  she 
added  thoughtfully,  "it's  been  a  wonderful  adven 
ture.  We  shall  often  talk  of  it  when  we're  old." 

"  We  shall  never  be  old,  for  we  love  each  other," 
said  the  Emperor. 

THE  END 


^  THE   McCLURE  PRESS,  NEW   TORE 


C.  J!3. 


L<ADY  BETTY 
ACROSS  THE  WATER 

r 

THE  discovery  of  America  by  one  of  the 
most  engaging,  appealing  and  alto 
gether  delicious  little  English  maids 
that  ever  "crossed  the  water."  Everybody  will 
be  delighted  to  learn  precisely  how  Lady  Betty 
found  us  and  what  things  in  our  life  particu 
larly  struck  her  wide-open  eyes  and  gave  her 
food  for  fun  and  reflection.  Evidently  she  did 
not  find  us  all  savages  for  there  was  one  man  — 
but  we  must  not  anticipate  the  charming  story 
which  is  unfolded. 

"  She  is  a  dear,  delightful  heroine  with  a  love  story  to 
reveal,  which  is  fresh,  naive,  and  altogether  charming  ;  and 
the  manner  of  its  revealing  is  buoyant  and  gracious." 

Chicago  News. 

&i;  illustrations  in  colors  bp  SDrgon  HotodK    $1,50 


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THE    CHAUTFEtTR 


- :-  ,  _.- 


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C.  JI3.  &  3.  9§.  GUilliamscn 
ROSEMARY 

r 


FASCINATING  beyond  words  is  this 
exquisitely  dainty  tale,  dealing  with 
the  finer  affections  of  a  child  and  her 
mother,  of  a  young  man  true  to  a  first  love. 
The  scene  is  laid  at  Monte  Carlo  in  the  beau 
tiful  green  Christmas-time.  \Yith  the  fantastic 
idea  implanted  by  her  nurse  that  on  Christmas 
eve  the  fairies  granted  to  one  her  dearest  wish, 
little  Rosemary,  who  lost  her  father  at  birth, 
sallies  forth,  stops  a  young  man  in  his  motor 
car  and  discovers  in  him  the  "fairy  father" 
of  her  dreams.  Hugh  Egerton  turns  out  to  be 
her  mother's  first  love,  and  there  is  a  heart 
warming  reunion  and  a  joyful  celebration. 

"An  exquisite  bit  of  literary  handicraft  The  motive 
of  the  story  is  so  sweet  and  tender  that  from  the  first  there 
are  chords  touched  in  the  heart."  Bu/falo  Courier. 

Superb!?  illustrate  from  Uratuings  b?  ftatgrrtll 
ant)  toitfc  borBer  Decoration**    $1.50 


